On the evening of 6th November 2013, USIT Ireland hosted a special ‘Work in Taiwan’ seminar at its flagship office on Aston Quay. The purpose of this event was to promote the recently introduced Ireland-Taiwan Working Holiday Program and encourage young Irish people to take advantage of the chance to live and work in Taiwan. The event was attended by Representative Harry Tseng.
USIT is one of Ireland's leading and best known travel companies. It has been in operation for over 50 years and specialises in youth and independent travel. It runs a range of programmes which allow young Irish people to work, teach and volunteer abroad. USIT further provides all the information, administration and support needed to work around the world in confidence.
The ‘Work in Taiwan’ event was attended by over 60 people, most of which were Irish youths. It served as an introduction to Taiwan and what it has to offer. As special guest, Representative Harry Tseng was invited to say a few words about the Working Holiday Programme and about Taiwan generally. He spoke enthusiastically about the programme, noting that it has been very successful in its first year. To date, more than 200 Taiwanese youths have travelled to Ireland and were now either working or studying here. However, he admitted that there has not been the same level of uptake on the Irish side. Representative Tseng said that this was a shame because there were many good reasons to go to Taiwan and it has a lot to offer. He spoke briefly about the country’s beautiful landscape, its cultural richness and its impressive diversity. As a Chinese culture where both eastern and western values are present and English is widely spoken, Taiwan was the ideal gateway into Asia. Representative Tseng was also keen to emphasize the warm, hospitable and welcoming nature of Taiwan’s people ; this was something often remarked upon by returning visitors. All of these things, he said, combine to make for a truly unforgettable experience and he hoped we would see many more Irish youths taking up the chance to live and work with Taiwan in the coming year.
Representative Tseng was followed by a second guest-speaker, Mr. Berhard Grundemann from the Taiwan Mandarin Institute (TMI). The TMI is a Chinese language school based in Taipei and it works alongside USIT to help orientate and support young visitors to Taiwan. As a way of showing the type of support participants would receive by travelling with USIT, Mr. Grundemann shared his experience of helping a young Irish man Alan to settle in Taiwan. This ranged from collecting Alan at the airport, to assisting with accommodation arrangements, to facilitating his Mandarin learning, and even helping him to find a job. The message was clear : it is not hard to travel to Taiwan.
After finishing his story, representatives from USIT took to the floor and introduced the details of the Working Holiday Programme. They also briefed the audience about the possibility of teaching English in Taiwan, how to get certified under USIT’s very own programme and what to expect from the teaching environment in Taiwan.
There were also a number of Taiwanese youths present who had been invited through Facebook to come and share their experiences with their Irish peers. Afterwards all of the participants mingled and enjoyed refreshment and delicious Dim Sum that had been prepared by the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland. It was a very enjoyable occasion and everyone left wiser about Taiwan and the Working Holiday Programme.
