Private University Grads Score Higher in Employer Survey

TAIPEI, May 7 Asia Pulse - Graduates of Taiwan's private universities have generally been better received by employers than their counterparts from public universities, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.

The survey of local employers, conducted by the 104 Job Bank, Taiwan's largest online employment service provider, found that two of the top five universities in terms of improvement of the quality of graduates in recent years were private universities, according to the survey's respondents.

The private Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan City, and Tamkang University in Tamshui City finished in first, and third on the list, while the public National Cheng Kung University in Tainan City, National Taipei University of Technology and National Taiwan University in Taipei City placed second, fourth and fifth on the list.

The survey also showed that three of the top five universities in terms of the ability of their graduates to improve their skills on the job according to employers were also private universities.

National Cheng Kung University and National Taiwan University placed first and second on the list, while Tamkang University, Chinese Culture University in Taipei City and Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei County rounded out the top five.

In the survey, employers were also asked what criteria they value most in hiring fresh graduates. Some 52.6 per cent of the respondents mentioned professional knowledge and skills, 50.4 per cent mentioned the ability to control their emotions and handle stress, 49.8 per cent said a sense of responsibility, 47.8 per cent mentioned a self-motivated personality, and 45.3 per cent said flexible learning ability.

Chiu Wen-jen, head of the 104 Job Bank's marketing department, said that the number of university graduates in Taiwan has been increasing rapidly in recent years and that a university degree no longer guarantees a good job.

She said the survey shows that employers have a wide range of requirements in hiring new employees, adding that universities, regardless of whether they are private or public, have their own strengths in certain areas and have no way of cultivating all of these qualities in their students at the same time.

A total of 1,597 valid samples were collected in the 104 Job Bank survey, which is said to have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.45 percentage points.

(CNA)

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