Chapter 3 Provision of Technical & Vocational Education
Section 2 Basic Vocational Education
Article 11
Senior secondary and higher level educational institutions which offer basic vocational education may design their vocational courses jointly with relevant industries, set up appropriate program arrangements, and at the same time foster students' professional ethics, and their career development, and knowledge and awareness of labor and technology laws and regulations. These educational institutions shall also regularly update design of these courses.
Senior secondary and higher level educational institutions may plan and design the vocational courses referred to in the preceding paragraph based on the vocational competence criteria prescribed by the central competent authority in charge of each related industry sector to provide students with the vocational competencies they need to find employment.
The vocational competence criteria set by the central competent authority in charge of each of the various industry sectors in accordance with the Statute for Industrial Innovation shall be reviewed, updated, and adjusted at least once every two years, taking into account social developments and changes in the industry sector, and the updated versions shall be publicly posted on a dedicated information platform.
Technical and vocational colleges and universities shall review their course curriculums each year, in the light of the vocational competence criteria prescribed by the central competent authority of each related industry sector.
Article 12
Senior secondary and higher level educational institution may offer internship programs that accord with the nature of their divisions, departments, institutes, and academic programs.
If the internship programs referred to in the preceding paragraph involve off-campus internships, the educational institution shall prescribe the regulations governing the implementation methods, internship venues, teachers, calculation of course credits, guidance and counseling, and other associated matters, except when the internships are subject to the provisions of other ordinances. When a senior secondary or higher level educational institution that is providing off-campus internship programs requires a government institution (agency) or public enterprise or organization to set an internship quota, the matter shall be handled as follows:
Government institutions (agencies): The educational institution shall submit a written report including the plan for the proposed off-campus internship program to the competent authority in charge of the educational institution for it to review on a case by case basis in consultation with the government institution (agency) involved.
Public enterprises and organizations: The competent authority in charge of the educational institution may consult with the competent authority in charge of the public enterprise or organization and request it to contact the enterprise or organization under its jurisdiction and request that subsidiary unit to provide the quota, intended recipients, and form of the internships. On the basis of the results of the consultations, the competent authority in charge of the educational institution shall summarize the information about the off-campus internship program and the recruitment of technical students, and make this public. The allocation of internship places will then be decided through a selection or screening process.
Article 13
The competent authority shall conduct appraisals of the internship programs organized by senior secondary and higher level educational institutions. The regulations governing what the appraisals must include and any other related compliance matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
The competent authority may give incentive rewards to senior secondary and higher level educational institutions, collaborating organizations, and their personnel involved in providing internship programs that achieve outstanding results.
When a collaborating organization that works with one or more senior secondary and higher level educational institutions to provide off-campus internships offers an internship quota to an educational institution for a long period, and the number of students who have done an internship with that collaborating organization and are subsequently formally employed as staff members, after going through a selection procedure after their graduation, reaches a specific proportion set by the central competent authority, the competent authority shall report this to the central competent authority which shall request the central competent authority in charge of the associated industry to give an incentive reward to that collaborating organization.
Article 14
Senior secondary and higher level educational institutions may appoint experts from the industry sector to collaboratively provide teaching.
The regulations governing the assessment and endorsement, rights and obligations, and management of the experts from the industry sector referred to in the preceding paragraph, the courses offered by senior secondary and higher level educational institutions, and any other associated compliance matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
The competent authority shall give incentive rewards to enterprises in which a large number of their employees participate in teaching the internship programs provided by senior secondary and higher level educational institutions.
Article 15
Senior secondary and higher level educational institutions shall encourage their teachers and students to take part in skills competitions and to obtain professional certificates pertinent to the area of their studies and later employment, to increase students’ ability to find employment. The competent authority may give incentive rewards to senior secondary and higher level educational institutions that achieve outstanding related results.
The central competent authority in charge of each industry sector shall organize a list of all the professional certifications pertinent to the industries under their respective jurisdictions and submit it to the central competent authority to regularly make public.
Regulations governing the assessment and endorsement of the professional certifications referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, and the eligibility criteria, the form of incentive rewards, and any other compliance matters pertaining to the incentive rewards referred to in Paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by the central competent authority in consultation with each central competent industry authority involved.
Article 16
Skills-based senior high schools, general senior high schools with affiliated vocational program divisions; and comprehensive senior high schools that provide vocational programs may draw up specific case plans for a vocational training program that they want to offer to train entry level skilled workers for a specific industry and submit the plans to its competent authority for review. The vocational training program may only be provided if the competent authority gives its approval.
The vocational training program referred to in the preceding paragraph are not subject to the restrictions on student eligibility, admission, delineation of school districts, courses, and assessment of learning stipulated in the provisions of Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 of the Senior High School Education Act.
Article 17
Junior colleges and institutions of higher education may work with the industry sector to offer vocational training programs to provide basic vocational education.
The junior colleges and institutions of higher education shall draw up an implementation plan setting out the qualifications of the instructors, curriculum design, operation mode, calculation of course credits, workplace internships, and guidance and counseling aspects of the vocational training programs referred to in the preceding paragraph and submit the plan to its competent authority to review. If the competent authority gives approval, the plan may then be implemented.
Article 18
Technical and vocational colleges and universities shall enhance their vocational competence-oriented programs and work with skills-based senior high schools, general senior high schools with affiliated vocational program divisions, and comprehensive senior high schools that provide vocational programs, to jointly set up mechanisms articulating their respective programs to facilitate the fostering of students’ vocational competencies.
Article 19
Technical and vocational colleges and universities may give preferential enrollment to students who have specific practical work experience and these colleges and universities shall add regulations governing the assessment and recognition of applicants’ practical work experience and related preferential treatment to the rules and regulations pertaining to student recruitment and admission. These additional regulations may be implemented after they have been reviewed and approved by the student recruitment committee and then endorsed by the central competent authority.