Image taken from Pixabay

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Relevant internship or work experience is the most important factor for employers when choosing to hire new graduates, according to a Ministry of Labor (MOL) survey Thursday.

The survey, which was released on the talent-recruiting website Taiwan Jobs, managed by the ministry's Workforce Development Agency, shows that 54.27 percent of employers consider relevant internships or work experience to be an important factor when hiring, making it single most cited factor.

The second most important focus when hiring was a candidate's expertise and skill, noted by 49.96 percent of employers.

In addition, up to 41.42 percent of employers are willing to offer new graduates a higher starting salary if they have related job certification or licenses, followed by 35.40 percent for relevant internship experience and 28.21 percent for multidisciplinary expertise, the survey showed.

The survey also showed that more than 50 percent of employers are willing to offer new graduates a starting salary of more than NT$26,000 (US$849).

According to data on the MOL website, the monthly minimum wage was increased from NT$21,009 to NT$22,000 on Jan. 1.

The survey was conducted from April 20 to May 21, collecting 1,113 valid samples, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points, the job recruitment website pointed out.

(By Yu Hsiao-han and William Yen)
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