An artificial intelligence training center was launched by the Ministry of Labor and state-backed Institute for Information Industry Dec. 24 in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, underscoring the government’s commitment to cultivating talent in emerging tech sectors.
According to III, the facility plans to enroll 120 unemployed citizens in institute-developed AI courses next year, with the MOL covering 80 percent of tuition costs. The curriculums also comprise introductions to various other high-growth areas spanning big data, machine learning and mobile app design.
The center was established under the government’s AI Taiwan Action Plan. Launched in January, the four-year, NT$9 billion (US$292 million) initiative aims to deepen the nation’s talent pool in related fields, boost industrial upgrading by promoting the adoption of smart technologies, and reform regulations to encourage cutting-edge R&D.
According to MOL Chief Secretary Chen Ming-jen, the center spotlights ministry efforts to help workers find rewarding careers while supporting the country’s economic growth strategies. It is also targeted at balancing technological training resources between northern and southern Taiwan, he added.
III Acting President Hsiao Po-jen described the emergence of AI as a positive development offering benefits like greater consumer convenience and safety as demonstrated by self-driving cars. The center will work to foster strong connections with regional enterprises so as to advance Taiwan’s capabilities in related sectors and provide enrollees with exciting job opportunities, he said.
This is the second AI training hub jointly set up by the MOL and III following the establishment of a similar facility Nov. 1 in central Taiwan’s Taichung City.
Founded in 1979, Taipei City-based III is tasked with boosting the competitiveness of the information and communication technology industry and fostering the digital economy through such measures as promoting pioneering research, training industry talents and building the nation’s ICT infrastructure. (CPY-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw