National Formosa University (NFU), in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency, Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan Branch, and the Fair Friend Group (FFG), jointly hosted the "2025 National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition." The two-day competition was held at the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch's Training Hall 4 and concluded successfully on October 17th (Friday). The event gathered 50 vocational elites from 33 senior high industrial schools across the country. Yang Yuhui, Director-General of the Ministry of Education's Department of Technical and Vocational Education, attended the event in person to encourage contestants to integrate their professional knowledge with practical operations, demonstrating the core spirit of vocational education.
Director-General Yang Yuhui thanked the Fair Friend Group for providing the competition funding and the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch for offering the venue and materials. She affirmed NFU's model of organizing the "National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition" to cultivate talent by taking root at the foundational level. She stated that the Ministry of Education will consider increasing competition prize money in the future to encourage students to continue delving into technical research. She also pointed out that universities of science and technology offer diverse admission channels and subsidies for students with outstanding technical skills and high school technical backgrounds, as well as opportunities for overseas study and technical observation, assisting students in deepening their professional development.
NFU President Chang Shing-Liang stated that the "National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition" is now in its eleventh year and serves as an important platform for connecting vocational education with industry. This year, NFU collaborated with the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch and the Fair Friend Group, and signed strategic alliances with 16 senior high industrial schools to jointly cultivate key technical talents for the machine tool industry, ensuring cooperation takes root and forms a complete talent cultivation network.
President Chang noted that through the competition, one can see young students responding to industry needs with professional skills and on-site problem-solving thinking, which also demonstrates the results of the three parties' joint talent cultivation efforts. In the future, NFU will continue to integrate government and enterprise resources to build a talent cultivation chain that extends from the campus to the production line, steadily advancing the development of Taiwan's vocational education.
This competition focused on cultivating talent for the machine tool industry, featuring two major categories: "Lathe Group" and "Mold Group." Contestants were required to use various cutting tools to produce specified parts within a limited time, paying rigorous attention to dimensional accuracy. The key to winning was the precision of the finished product and the contestants' technical skills and stability, which demonstrated the solid strength of Taiwan's vocational education. This year's top three winners for the "Lathe Group" were Puli Senior High School, Muzha Senior High School, and Dahu Agricultural and Industrial High School; the top three for the "Mold Group" were New Taipei Municipal New Taipei Industrial High School, NCKU Attached Industrial High School, and Xiluo Agricultural and Industrial High School. The top three contestants in each group received certificates and prize money up to NT$30,000 in recognition of their professional skills and efforts.
Liu Bang-dong, Director-General of the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch, stated that there is currently a high demand for lathe and milling machine personnel in the machinery and mold industries. They will continue to cultivate industry talent through competitions and vocational training. After training, individuals can work as CAD/CAM engineers, process engineers, mechanical processing technicians for automotive, motorcycle, and aerospace components, CNC machine tool technicians, etc., with salaries exceeding NT$40,000 within five years.
Jimmy Huang, Chairman of the Fair Friend Group's Machine Tool Business Group, stated that skills competitions are not only a display of vocational education achievements but also an important starting point for young students to enter professional fields. Corporate participation helps the educational environment align more closely with industry needs, shortening the gap between academia and application, and cultivating technical talent with both practical abilities and innovative thinking.
Chairman Huang emphasized that the core competitiveness of Taiwan's manufacturing industry lies in its people. Only by continuously cultivating young people with an international vision and professional skills can the industry grow steadily in the global market. The Fair Friend Group has long collaborated with educational institutions to connect vocational education with industry practice, hoping to plant the seeds of talent cultivation through skills competitions, making vocational education not just a starting point for learning, but a force that changes the future.
Text and photos provided by the Career Development Center
Director-General Yang Yuhui thanked the Fair Friend Group for providing the competition funding and the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch for offering the venue and materials. She affirmed NFU's model of organizing the "National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition" to cultivate talent by taking root at the foundational level. She stated that the Ministry of Education will consider increasing competition prize money in the future to encourage students to continue delving into technical research. She also pointed out that universities of science and technology offer diverse admission channels and subsidies for students with outstanding technical skills and high school technical backgrounds, as well as opportunities for overseas study and technical observation, assisting students in deepening their professional development.
NFU President Chang Shing-Liang stated that the "National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition" is now in its eleventh year and serves as an important platform for connecting vocational education with industry. This year, NFU collaborated with the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch and the Fair Friend Group, and signed strategic alliances with 16 senior high industrial schools to jointly cultivate key technical talents for the machine tool industry, ensuring cooperation takes root and forms a complete talent cultivation network.
President Chang noted that through the competition, one can see young students responding to industry needs with professional skills and on-site problem-solving thinking, which also demonstrates the results of the three parties' joint talent cultivation efforts. In the future, NFU will continue to integrate government and enterprise resources to build a talent cultivation chain that extends from the campus to the production line, steadily advancing the development of Taiwan's vocational education.
This competition focused on cultivating talent for the machine tool industry, featuring two major categories: "Lathe Group" and "Mold Group." Contestants were required to use various cutting tools to produce specified parts within a limited time, paying rigorous attention to dimensional accuracy. The key to winning was the precision of the finished product and the contestants' technical skills and stability, which demonstrated the solid strength of Taiwan's vocational education. This year's top three winners for the "Lathe Group" were Puli Senior High School, Muzha Senior High School, and Dahu Agricultural and Industrial High School; the top three for the "Mold Group" were New Taipei Municipal New Taipei Industrial High School, NCKU Attached Industrial High School, and Xiluo Agricultural and Industrial High School. The top three contestants in each group received certificates and prize money up to NT$30,000 in recognition of their professional skills and efforts.
Liu Bang-dong, Director-General of the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch, stated that there is currently a high demand for lathe and milling machine personnel in the machinery and mold industries. They will continue to cultivate industry talent through competitions and vocational training. After training, individuals can work as CAD/CAM engineers, process engineers, mechanical processing technicians for automotive, motorcycle, and aerospace components, CNC machine tool technicians, etc., with salaries exceeding NT$40,000 within five years.
Jimmy Huang, Chairman of the Fair Friend Group's Machine Tool Business Group, stated that skills competitions are not only a display of vocational education achievements but also an important starting point for young students to enter professional fields. Corporate participation helps the educational environment align more closely with industry needs, shortening the gap between academia and application, and cultivating technical talent with both practical abilities and innovative thinking.
Chairman Huang emphasized that the core competitiveness of Taiwan's manufacturing industry lies in its people. Only by continuously cultivating young people with an international vision and professional skills can the industry grow steadily in the global market. The Fair Friend Group has long collaborated with educational institutions to connect vocational education with industry practice, hoping to plant the seeds of talent cultivation through skills competitions, making vocational education not just a starting point for learning, but a force that changes the future.
Text and photos provided by the Career Development Center
At the National Industrial Arts Practical Skills Competition hosted by National Formosa University (NFU), several distinguished guests were present to encourage the student contestants:
Yang Yuhui (seventh from left), Director-General of the Ministry of Education's Department of Technical and Vocational Education; Chang Shing-Liang (sixth from left), President of NFU; Liu Bang-dong (fifth from right), Director-General of the WDA Yun-Chia-Nan Branch; Miao Wuliang (seventh from right), General Manager of Fair Friend Group Co., Ltd.
