A cooperation signing ceremony & panel seminar to launch the “International Internship Programme” was held at the Taipei City Da An campus of PCCU.

•    ECCT CEO Wittich pointed out that European corporations are already sizable employers in Taiwan but with the global economic recession having an ever-worsening impact on Taiwan, raising the unemployment rate to over 5%, it is becoming increasingly difficult for young, inexperienced graduates to find work. The “International Internship Programme” offers intern and part-time opportunities for university students to experience what it is like to work for European companies in Taiwan.

•    The internship programme is the brainchild of the Elias Ek, Co-chairman of the ECCT’s Small & Medium Enterprizes (SME) Centre and John Liao, Chief Research Officer of the School of Continuing Education at PCCU. The programme also has the active support of the Taiwan government, represented at the ceremony by Huang Wen-gu, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ SME Administration department.

•    According to Ek, the programme will help to bridge the gap between student life and work by providing students valuable experience and eventually also help to solve the unemployment problem.

•    PCCU’s Liao noted that PCCU has already worked closely with many enterprises, but mainly on joint research and government projects. “This International Internship Programme is our first project to integrate the resources from our university with the ECCT’s to reach a win-win objective of assisting graduating students into the workforce, as well as bringing suitable professionals into the European enterprises,” he said.

•    In practice, PCCU will first go through a selection process and eligible students will be referred to enterprises of the ECCT SME Centre for internship opportunities.

•    An added advantage for students enrolled in the programme is that they can have the number of hours worked as an intern converted to graduation credits. The programme also hopes that those interns that perform well in their temporary jobs will be offered full-time positions with their employers.

•    Apart from the signing ceremony, there was also a mini job fair at which seven companies from the ECCT’s SME Centre offering internship and part-time opportunities as marketing planners, administrative assistants, e-marketing, IT management and programme were on hand to speak to interested senior PCCU students.

On 1 April, the ECCT's SME Centre hosted Lin Chang, Senior Consultant from the Chinese Cultural University’s (PCCU) Innovation & Incubation Center at an evening event held at the offices of the BECC Consulting Group. In his presentation to SME members Chang gave some useful information and tips on how to gain access to the government’s NT$484 billion stimulus budget.

Chang’s presentation was preceded by a happy hour sponsored by Citizen International Foods, Macallan Fine Oak and Cottingham & Co.

•    According to Chang, the first step is to know which ministry to approach for funding your type of business. The good news is that there is plenty of money, so much that some ministries are worried that they won’t be able to spend it all.
•    Of the NT$150 billion stimulus budget allocated for 2009, the largest portion has been given to the Ministry of Education (NT$46 billion) followed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (NT$35.6 billion), the Ministry of Economic Development (NT$21.3 billion) and the Council of Agriculture (NT$22.4 billion).
•    Corporations that are focused on the government’s targeted “emerging” industries such as biotechnology, green power, health care, modern agriculture and culture and creativity are at an advantage to traditional industries and more likely to get funding.
•    Given the economic crisis and Taiwan’s rising unemployment rate, preference will be given to projects that create jobs. Thus, submissions must clearly demonstrate that every NT$1 million in funding will create at least one job.  
•    However, the process of getting funding is complicated and time consuming. Chang admitted that it would it be difficult for foreign enterprises to get funding without first teaming up with a local partner. He also recommended getting the support of a “trusted advisor”. In this regard it is best to be endorsed by an academic as scholars are most trusted by the government.
 

On 9 April, the ECCT's SME Centre invited three experts to offer advice to Taiwanese companies on how to market and sell their products and services to Westerners in a workshop titled: Marketing to Europe: How to Sell Your Taiwanese Brand and Products to Western Clients.

Session I

Topic: Selling to Westerners: Door-opening communication techniques

Speaker: True Black

•    Treating potential clients as individuals is important as is finding out their goals, priorities and motives while showing sincerity in helping them to resolve problems will make them feel as though they can view you as valued partner.

•    Once potential clients have expressed an interest in your company, it is important to follow up proactively without being so persistent as to become annoying.

•    Mastering cross-cultural communication is difficult and takes time and practice but understanding the difference between the typical Asian (high context) versus Western (low context) communication styles is a good starting point. 

•    Marketing materials that work in Taiwan will probably not translate well directly so it is important to get all content edited by a professional.

Session II

Topic: PR and Marketing as a Taiwan Manufacturer with Your Own Brand

Speaker: Jean-Pierre Skalamera, General Manager, IT Media Gate Co., Ltd.

•    Establishing a successful brand requires decisive action and commitment. No matter how good you are you can’t just wait until you’re discovered. Relying on a distributor to do your promotion for you also may not succeed as they have other clients and their own business to promote as well.

•    Making good use of the media is effective and not always expensive. As journalists are always looking for good content, if you provide interesting information about your products or services, chances are journalists will use it, thereby giving you free advertising.

•    Appearance is important so pay attention to design and ensure that the quality of your content is top notch.  

Session III

Topic: IT Strategies for Marketing to Europe

Speaker: Thomas Siegers, Founder and Managing Director, Songfuli Co., Ltd.

•    Tastes differ by market so what is appealing to Taiwanese consumers may turn off Westerners. Therefore website design and content should be modified for specific markets.

•    Since the majority of Western users use search engines rather than communities like blogs and forums, a website needs to be search-engine-friendly. This means that frames and tables that cannot be read by search engines should be avoided.

•    Websites should also be simple to understand and navigate, interoperable with all language characters and be compatible with all browsers.

•    “Content is king” so a website needs to be frequently updated with quality content.

The Chinese Cultural University and the SME Centre has established an Internship program. The goal is to give students a chance to work in an International environment and get practical work experience and on the job training. Some will even get a chance to practice their English abilities. This experience will boost their chances to get a job of their liking after graduation, perhaps even at the company at which they are interning. The ECCT SME Centre members wish to showcase the many career opportunities they can offer and attract top-quality job applicants.

As part of the Internship program the SME Centre members will also provide training about the qualities and attitudes they feel students need to nurture to be better employees and also further their own careers.

Due to the wide variety of companies who are members of the SME Centre, all interested PCCU students will likely get a chance to apply for an internship in their chosen field.

• Business Management
• Marketing
• Consulting
• International Trade
• Finance
• MIS/IT
• Education

In a world filled with global companies who trade in every corner of the world it is important for job seekers to display both skills in their profession but also cultural understanding and language ability. Landing one of the Internship positions with the SME Centre members will add invaluable work experience to a students resume.

Are you a…

• Foreigner who runs an SME in Taiwan?
• Manager of a local branch office of a foreign company?
• Owner or Manager of a company that have specific services or products catering to SMEs?

Then you should join the ECCT SME Centre.

The SME Centre was established in 2007 to champion our members’ business in Taiwan.
The ECCT SME Centre is a unique platform for SMEs to network and build “guan xi” with the Taiwanese government, Taiwanese business associations and other foreign owned and managed SMEs.

ECCT SME Centre Membership benefits:

• Attend the many SME Centre events to gain knowledge from qualified professionals and network with fellow SMEs and other stakeholders
• Have your company profile appear on the SME Centre website member directory as well as printed in the official ECCT Membership Directory Book
• Attend the ECCT Monthly Luncheons where you have the chance to meet our 350 other members like HSBC, ING, Tatung, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Nestle, Carrefour, and Acer as well as EU business leaders and embassies.
• Invitation to luncheons and Dinner meeting with political leaders of Minister levels and prominent business leaders, that includes,
  • Roundtable Meeting, 2 times a year
  • Government Visit, 2 times a year
  • Special luncheon/presentation by special speaker, non periodically
  • Professional Workshop, 2 times a year (latest tax/ regulation update)
• One year subscription to our bi-monthly business magazine EUROVIEW
• Assistance watching for business opportunities
• Participation in writing the annual Position Paper which ECCT distributes to the Taiwanese government. This is your chance to make your voice heard.

Activities to date:

Since October 2007 the SME Centre has arranged a number of events with topics like Internet marketing, branding, logistical solutions, accounting, HR and ARC related legal issues. The SME Centre members has also had the chance to meet and get to know these prominent leaders:

• Dr. Robert Lai, Director of Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise Association, www.moeasmea.gov.tw
• Dr. Yi-yuan Yueh, General Director for the very influential Institute for Information Industry, www.iii.org.tw
• Mr. Cliff Hsu, Assistant Director of the National Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, www.nasme.org.tw
• Plus many of their colleagues and other important Taiwanese organizations.

For information about future SME Centre Events, please visit http://sme-centre.ecct.com.tw

Comments from our members:

“I have never been a member of any Chamber of Commerce before, but I am very happy that I have joined the ECCT SME Centre. Via the events I have had a chance to connect with trade associations representing thousands of potential clients, I have received free consulting help from a top-rated consultant and I have been invited to join a national speaker tour. Not to mention I have met a lot of fellow SME leaders. I feel I am now able to connect to the Taiwanese market and society in ways I have never thought possible before during 8 years doing business in Taiwan.

As co-director of the SME Centre of course I am partial, but I would suggest everyone to join up.”
Elias Ek, Co-Director ECCT SME Centre and President of Enspyre (www.enspyre.com)