Taiwanese forsaking office life for working-class jobs
Taiwanese forsaking office life for working-class jobs
NEW DIRECTION:：A poll by yes123 revealed that more
than 77 percent of white-collar workers are considering changing tack and taking
a blue-collar job
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA
Thu, Sep 26, 2013 - Page 3
A growing number of Taiwanese who are eligible for, or were working in,
white-collar jobs are forsaking office life for jobs that are sometimes better
paid, but have commonly been perceived to be the province of the working class,
the BBC reported earlier this week.
The report focused on Sam Wei, a 28-year-old with a master’s degree in
engineering, who quit his job at a high-tech firm to work in his father’s
scooter repair shop.
Wei said that he had high hopes when he was fresh out of college, but found
that his pay did not equate with the amount of work he was doing, adding that it
was the impetus for him to return home and take over the scooter repair shop
from his aging father.
The report also featured Nick Chen, a 50-year-old who had worked as the head
of an IT department at the local county council and was unable to find a job
after being laid off due to his age.
Now working as a laborer doing repairs to gas pipes, plumbing and electrical
wiring, Chen said that he had at first been unable to come to terms with the
radical change of career, adding that he had been ashamed to tell others that
he, as a highly educated individual, was now reduced to fixing pipes, the report
said.
Taipei City Vocational Development Institute director Kao Chun-yi (高俊儀) and
online job bank yes123 also said that such a trend is developing.
Noting the increasing number of individuals attending the institute who had
at least studied at college and even some with doctorates, Kao said that a high
literacy level and the number of people who have been highly educated have
perhaps cheapened the value of diplomas, adding that some are now of the mind
that having a skill set is a better option.
An Internet poll by yes123 also revealed that more than 77 percent of
white-collar workers are considering changing tack and taking on a blue-collar
job, with the primary reason being that the wages paid to white-collar workers
are too low and the threshold for better-paying jobs too high.
Electricians said that although such a trend is slowly starting to appear,
some stereotypes are difficult to eliminate.
The common stereotype about electricians is that it is a working class job,
for the uneducated, a company was quoted as saying, adding that it is still
difficult to hire apprentices.
The Ministry of Education is making efforts to promote skill-set education
and the Council of Labor Affairs has even revealed that an electrician’s average
pay is actually higher than the average for a white-collar worker, the company
said, adding that the majority of society still adheres to the concept that
educated white-collar work is better than fixing pipes and electrical
wiring.
The council conducted a survey in 2011 which revealed that the average wage
for an electrician stood at about NT$37,800 — NT$11,800 more than the average
NT$26,000 for a white-collar worker fresh out of college.
The company said that a shortage of manpower in the industry due to
stereotyping meant companies now look to take on large jobs, such as
renovations, and are reluctant to take on smaller, individual jobs such as a
blocked pipe.
Wei said that his college friends had expressed shock and incredulity when
they learned of his new occupation.
“Most people think this type of work is dirty and it is done by people who
didn’t study, but I don’t think that’s true. It requires a lot of skill and I’m
learning a lot,” Wei said.
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