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Joint College Entrance Examination of Technological and Vocational Education was held on May 4. Under the declining birthrate, only the number of applicants for industrial sciences has increased this year. Among these applicants, Aeronautical Engineering related departments are one of the hottest departments in the Power Mechanical Engineering Group. Such departments produce aircraft maintenance technicians who are not only highly paid, but are also in great demand. As long as they are willing to sweat and bear heavy workload, they can earn NT$40,000 a month after their graduation. Recognizing the demand, universities of Science and Technology also started related departments to proactively recruit talents and attract high school students to apply for admission into these departments.
“In 2018, the output value of Taiwan's aviation-related industries reached NT$ 100 billion, of which aircraft maintenance accounted for 55% to 60%,” said Dr. Yu-Tai Yang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Aeronautical and Opto-Mechatronic Engineering at Vanung University (VNU). Dr. Yang went on, “The starting salary of the aircraft maintenance personnel falls between NT$ 35,000 to 40,000 at the two major domestic aircraft factories, CAL Engineering & Maintenance Organization and Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation. The starting salary of a university graduate can reach NT$ 43,000 if his/her TOEIC score hits 450 or higher.
In response to the demand for aircraft maintenance personnel in Taiwan, Vanung University established the Preparatory Office of the Department of Aeronautical and Opto-Mechatronic Engineering in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, the Department increased one class every year, and in 2018 it recruited a total of 200 students split into 4 classes. Dr. Yang said that the Department of Aeronautical and Opto-Mechatronic Engineering planned to enroll only 10% of high school students, but it resulted in attracting three times more applicants.
However, Vanung University takes a different approach. Dr. Yu-Tai Yang pointed out that the Department of Aeronautical and Opto-Mechatronic Engineering of VNU will not expand in the future, but will focus on improving the quality of teaching in four major areas: aircraft maintenance, aviation composite materials, drones and electromechanical integration. Among them, VNU invested NT$ 20 million to cultivate the talents of aviation composite materials. Such investment aims at meeting the demands for Taiwan’s aircraft component technicians by major manufacturers domestic and abroad after the continuing development of Taoyuan Aerotropolis.
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