To improve the public servant selection and professional certification, MOEX has established an integrated platform dedicated for education, examination, training, and employment. On November 12, the ministry held the second conference for the platform for national exam civil engineering category at National Yunlin University of Science & Technology. The conference was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Civil Service, Civil Service Protection & Training Commission, Public Construction Commission, department of civil engineering at public and private universities, and related hiring government agencies, Architectural Institute of Taiwan, National Architects Association of R.O.C. (Taiwan), Chinese Union of Professional Civil Engineers Association, The Union of Soil and Water Conservation Professional Engineer Association of R.O.C. (Taiwan), Taiwan Professional Surveying Engineers Association, and the Chinese Society Of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing. The event allowed different groups in education, examination, training, and employment to share insights and make suggestions for the exam system.

At his address, Minister Hsu Shu-Hsiang noted that the planning, construction, and maintenance of the nation’s development projects rely heavily on the involvement of engineers from different fields, as so do projects of territorial development, environment, transportation, disaster prevention, green building, and sustainable national development. Considering the facts that civil engineering professionals in the public sector bear responsibility for national development projects, which are matters of public interest and safety of life and property, and that the quota of civil engineering, construction, surveying and mapping categories are often left unmet, finding a solution is necessary. MOEX established the platform in 2020 and held a meeting to hear stake holder opinions. The second meeting was held this year at National Yunlin University of Science & Technology, in hopes of facilitating conversation and exchange in order to enhance the selection efficacy through exams, improve talent cultivation, and meet the hiring needs of government and society.

The meeting ended at 4 PM. Participants spoke enthusiastically during this fruitful meeting and gave valuable suggestions regarding civil engineering education, examination, training and employment. Some suggestions include: diversifying exam question types and better aligning exams with actual workplace needs; expanding the scope of relevant civil engineering categories; establishing industry-government-academia collaborations with local universities to help workforce development; establishing access to legal counseling or outsourcing legal counseling to help reduce work execution stress; raising additional remuneration for professional expertise as incentives for recruitment and retainment; and providing legal training. MOEX will compile meeting conclusions and post them on its website for the reference of the public and related groups. Further work will be undertaken to help improve the exam system.