CDF cares about vocational education in Taiwan. Since its establishment in 2017, the Vocational Skills Scholarship program has been helping high school and vocational school (and above) students fulfill their potential in music, art, sports, the culinary arts. The program has helped more than 100 students stay focused on their aspirations and hone their skills, with a view to helping them master a potential future profession.
In August 2018, Wang Wei-chih, a freshman at the Department of Civil Engineering at National Taipei University of Technology, won first place in the category of plastering and drywall systems at the National Team Selection for the 45th WorldSkills Competition. This October, he will participate in the second round of the National Team Selection to vie for qualification in the WorldSkills Competition 2019, to be held in Russia.
Plastering and drywall systems are applied in plastering, decoration, and interior renovation. At vocational school, Wang developed an interest in this field and used his out-of-school time to train himself to qualify as a competitor. After winning a gold medal in the competition for the National Team Selection, he decided to suspend his freshman year for six months to participate in a training program offered by Tainan Training Center under the Vocational Training Bureau, to move further toward becoming a qualified national competitor. However, the training fee and living expenses during the training period were a big burden for him. Wang, having thought about giving up on his dream because of economic pressure, said CDF’s scholarship program allowed him to pursue his dream and enhance his skills. He now feels he has grown significantly both physically and mentally.
The Lu-Chu Senior High School football team from Kaohsiung won fourth place at the 2017 High-school Football League tournament. Four players from the team joined CDF’s program early this year. According to team coach Lin Shiue-tsung, several new players who joined the team this year have great potential. However, they have difficulty paying training fees due to financial pressures at home, even wearing old football boots as they can’t afford new ones. As the team is cash-strapped, the coach had to raise funds and look for resources here and there. This year, Lin applied for CDF’s scholarship program on behalf of the four students with potential, allowing them to focus on football without financial difficulties. As a token of their gratitude, the team had “CDF” printed on the jerseys they wore to Malaysia for friendly games held this summer.
CDF believes education is the most valuable investment, and sees cultivating excellence as a key part of its giving back to society. The Vocational Skills Scholarship program is intended to help students with vocational skills fulfill their dreams. The program is open for applications, with regulations and application forms available to download from the website of CDIB Education and Cultural Affairs Foundation at www.cdibf.org.