Taiwan set to open 1st overseas recruitment center

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Taiwan's government is preparing to open its first cross-border recruitment center in the world in the Philippines, which will enable employers to hire overseas workers directly without the use of brokers and ease their manpower shortages.

In a statement Friday, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said the Philippines' recruitment center is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2026 and will initially help sectors with glaring labor shortages, including the hospitality and commercial port business sectors.

Though the center has yet to open, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said the MOL already has a special task force in place to take applications for workers from local employers starting Jan. 1, 2026.

Before then, Hung said, the MOL will meet with representatives from various sectors eligible to hire foreign workers to give them a better understanding of the new policy.

Hung indicated that while applications could be submitted beginning on Jan. 1, newly hired workers would not likely arrive in Taiwan by the end of the first quarter as the hiring needs to go through a certain administrative procedure.

Lydia Huang (黃齡玉), director general of the MOL's Workforce Development Agency, said Friday that the center will allow Taiwan's government to deal directly with foreign authorities, helping ease the burden of foreign workers who are typically saddled with high brokerage fees before and during their stays in Taiwan.

Under this new system, expenses for flight tickets, health checkups and visas for migrant workers will in principle be paid by Taiwanese employers rather than the workers, Huang said.

According to the MOL, the ministry is planning to open more cross-border recruitment centers in other foreign countries that serve as the major sources of migrant workers to Taiwan, such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Under a new Cabinet labor policy announced in mid-October, to hire one additional migrant worker beyond the fixed quota allocated to a business, employers must raise the monthly salary of a local employee by NT$2,000 (US$63.69) and keep the number of such hires at under 10 percent of their workforce.

The government has cited demographic challenges, including a low birth rate, an aging population, and a skilled labor shortage, as the factors behind local businesses seeking more overseas workers.