FEMCO: A Leading Chiayi Group Plans Ahead with a Workplace Where Young and Senior Staff Thrive Together

As an aging population and low birth rate cause labor shortages, a FEMCO group subsidiary in Chiayi has planned ahead. With support from the Workforce Development Agency’s Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan branch through its Middle-aged and Senior Employment Advisory Team and Job Redesign Service programs, the company has improved its workplace and equipment to help different generations work together, pass on skills and raise productivity.

Liu Ta-yuan, director of the Chiayi Employment Service Center, explains that the advisory team provides free one-on-one guidance to help companies create age-friendly workplaces and connect with government resources. Job redesign helps workers with disabilities and middle-aged and older workers by redesigning work processes and environments or providing assistive technology, improving efficiency and output, with subsidies of up to NT$100,000 per case per year.

According to the branch, FATEK Industrial Co., Ltd., part of the FEMCO group, serves the automotive, aerospace and petrochemical industries and has a strong need for skilled staff. Its employees average 40 years of age, with people in their 50s and 60s forming the backbone. The company applied for both programs early to build a workplace where young and senior staff work side by side, so neither workforce nor know-how has a gap.

The branch brought in experts to design a series of courses for the company, including cross-generational communication workshops and one-on-one coaching, to help generations share values and ideas and communicate smoothly at work.

The workplace and equipment were also improved. Digital depth calipers replaced traditional dial calipers, easing eye strain when reading depth measurements, and cordless drill-drivers replaced hex keys, reducing the risk of cumulative wrist injuries from long hours of manual screw driving.

References (in Chinese): China Times · Commercial Times