Four departments from three different Taiwanese universities started their first P-TECH five-year vocational programs on September 10. The P-TECH programs are designed to eliminate discrepancies between students’ skills and knowledge and the expectations of the industry. The inaugural P-TECH programs are automation engineering at Taipei Tech, mechanical engineering at National Formosa University, and mold and die engineering and civil engineering at National Kaohsiung University of Sciences and Technology. In total, 165 students will start the P-TECH program this year, and they are expected to become the future “New Collar” workforce.

The P-TECH programs are based on Skills Mapping co-designed by universities and partnering businesses. The partnering businesses proposed their skill requirements and will also provide career opportunities for graduates who meet them. University professors work closely with business representatives in devising curriculum and workshops that the representatives will also be involved in executing. This partnership ensures that students learn skills that are in high demand.

According to Lisa Kao, general manager of IBM Taiwan, the school is no longer the main factor when businesses hire. Instead, businesses are looking for “New Collar” workers who are proficient in cutting-edge technologies. Kao is excited to provide the IBM international platform and resources in establishing the P-TECH programs in Taiwan. There are more than thirty partnering businesses involved in Taiwan’s P-TECH programs, providing students with the valuable knowledge, experience, and skills today’s businesses require and cultivating a well-rounded, new generation of workforce.

In addition to teaching specialized skills, the P-TECH program also centers on STEM education. IBM Taiwan designed a three-year curriculum focused on cloud computing AI technologies that will teach students concepts and applications and lead students in hands-on practice. As part of the curriculum, IBM Taiwan will bring in managers and senior engineers from the cloud computing business unit to teach and mentor students. The curriculum will feature a cloud computing introduction, the opportunity to build a chatbot using AI technologies and IBM Cloud, a hands-on IBM Watson workshop, and the IBM TJBot project in which students build a robot. This curriculum will familiarize students in technologies such as voice recognition, AI cognition, and computer vision, making them the AI professionals suited for the future.

IBM Taiwan will send several managers as mentors and has vowed to provide international and domestic internship and career opportunities. During the course of the program, IBM Taiwan will arrange for students to visit the IBM office and will look for opportunities for students to visit P-TECH schools abroad.

The P-TECH program concept was conceived by IBM, and the first P-TECH school was established in partnership with New York State University and the New York State Education Department in 2011. There are currently more than 110 P-TECH schools around the world with more than 500 partnered businesses, teaching students in fields covering technology, medicine, manufacturing, and energy.