Taiwan agrees to expand Indonesia direct hiring program

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Indonesia to expand its government-to-government direct hiring program, allowing employers in the construction, slaughtering and offshore fishing sectors to recruit workers directly from Indonesia.

Under the expanded scheme, eligible employers can apply through the ministry's Direct Hiring Service Center to conduct project-based worker selection, bypassing private brokers and lowering recruitment costs for both employers and workers, MOL officials said in a press conference.

The ministry established the center in 2008 to encourage direct recruitment and reduce reliance on intermediaries. The center provides services including consultations, bilingual interpretation and case managers who handle applications from start to finish.

According to Chen Ming-shan (陳明山), deputy director of the MOL's Cross-Border Workforce Affairs Center, the center can serve as a single contact window for eligible employers seeking Indonesian workers.

Employers submit their labor needs to the center, after which the source country assists in recruiting three to five times the number of required candidates, Chen said.

Employers can then select workers through document reviews conducted in Taiwan, video interviews, or in-person selection trips overseas, he added.

MOL data show that Taiwan first introduced project-based selection for Indonesian manufacturing workers in 2019, later expanding the program to institutional caregivers and agriculture in 2024.

From 2019 to 2024, about 50 workers per year were recruited through the program, with the number rising to 169 in 2025, the data showed.