SC-TOP Hosts Employment Expo in Tokyo, Combining Mandarin Proficiency with New Career Opportunities
With assistance from the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency–Huayu (SC-TOP) hosted a Huayu Employment Expo on December 6 at the Tokyo Chinese School in Japan. SC-TOP developed and conducts TOCFL – the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language, providing formal certification of test takers’ language proficiency. This was the first time that such an employment expo has been held in Japan: one combining career development and language proficiency. Nine companies, from the technology, banking, and service industry sectors, that are seeking employees who are able to speak Mandarin and some educational institutions took part, as well as local Japanese students and people seeking employment.
The goals of the expo were to support individuals who want to “apply Chinese language skills in the workplace” and “pursue international career paths” and to raise awareness of the TOCFL certificates. Dr. Chen Po-Hsi 陳柏熹, Executive Director of SC-TOP, traveled to Japan to attend the expo. In his opening remarks, he expressed hope that the expo would help Mandarin speakers unlock new professional opportunities. Awareness of the importance of having employees with Chinese proficiency is continuing to grow in Japan, and many of the company representatives said that the demand of companies in Japan for people is rapidly increasing. Huang Guan-Chao, Director of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, pointed out that in recent years people in Taiwan have made more than six and a half million visits to Japan.
The expo venue was very lively to help further promote interest in learning Mandarin. As well as providing information about TOCFL and opportunities for job-seekers to speak with company representatives, there were hands-on DIY activities with distinctive Taiwanese characteristics, popular Taiwanese snacks to try, and some night-market-style ring toss games that created a cheerful atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.
