Project of Developing Talents in Photovoltaics Industry in Taiwan

With worldwide growth of photovoltaics, the production of solar energy has been accelerated. In 2004, Taiwan’s solar cell production value was near NT$2.6 billion, and its global market share was 3% while only 38.14 MW was produced. Talent is the foundation of an organization, and it achieves its goals and development usually through educational training. Photovoltaics (PV) talents in Taiwan can be trained through school education and institution training; however, our educational training on PV industry is just beginning, we do not have in depth analysis and discussion so far. The aims of the present study were as follows. First of all, the current status of PV talent development at school was investigated. Second, this study examined the strategies of developing talent in the PV industry. Fuzzy Delphi Method was adopted and multiple questionnaires were administered to photovoltaic specialists and scholars to analyze the background and the present status of talent development. The findings can be applied in industrial, government, and academic policy making and accreditation mechanism. Feng-Hsiang Chang 1 , Chih-Yung Tsai 2* 1Department of Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Management, Tzu Hui Institute of Technology, Pingtung 926, Taiwan 2Department of Education, University of Taipei, Taipei 100, Taiwan. Submission: 2 May 2016 Accepted: 7 May 2016 Published: 25 May 2016 www.ijsrm. humanjournals.com Citation: Chih-Yung Tsai et al. Ijsrm.Human, 2016; Vol. 3 (3): 46-63. 47 INTRODUCTION In recent years, green technology is increasingly becoming the developmental focus since people are highly dependent on fossil fuels, so it causes shortness and a skyrocketing price of conventional energy sources. The present fossil fuel storage can only be used for another 43 years, so its price continues to grow. Average Brent crude oil price increased from US$25.754 in January 2001 to US$112.48 in January 2013 [1]. The other important reason is global warming. According to British Petroleum (BP)’s report, in April 2005, the biggest challenge in the 21st century is global warming caused by extensive greenhouse gases emissions. Environmental protection and green energy industry are highly important in slowing down the global warming effect induced by excessive emissions of greenhouse gases and addressing the lack of conventional energy sources. As a result of the Kyoto Protocol signed on February 16, 1997, average greenhouse gases emissions in 2008-2012 were 5.2% lower than in 1990 [2]. More and more countries worldwide have been investing in green energy industries such as photovoltaics (PV) and wind power generation, among which PV has the greatest development potential and industrial opportunity [3]. In 2010, the central government purchased PV mainly through public infrastructure investment projects. Local governments served as an example to purchase PV and thus promote nationwide demand. In 2010, NT$748.54 and 363.19 million were invested into PV engineering and PV labor market, respectively [4]. Talent is the impulse for industrial progression. Vocational Training Bureau (VTB), Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, established e-newspaper which has analyzed current industries development trends starting from July 2009 and listed six emerging industries in Taiwan, namely, tourism, outsourcing, culture and creation, environmental protection, medical and care services, and optoelectronics. Industry, government, and academic specialists were invited to six conferences from July to October 2009. Staff from human resource departments was invited in particular in order to inform the industry about the dimensions and predicaments of its need for talents. Due to limited understanding of PV industry properties by the practitioners of the Department of Investment Services, Ministry of Economic Affairs [5], the PV technology and quality cannot be effectively improved. Vocational skills necessary for PV practitioners can be understood from www.ijsrm. humanjournals.com Citation: Chih-Yung Tsai et al. Ijsrm.Human, 2016; Vol. 3 (3): 46-63. 48 governmental policies and PV training courses. The educational goal of universities’ photovoltaic research departments is PV talent development. This study was motivated by the need to help develop PV departments address the future needs for PV talents and examine the current PV talent development policies. Talent is the basis of an organization, and it achieves its goals and development usually through educational trainings. According to the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) 2008 reports "Green Jobs", by 2030, the employment in PV, wind power, and biofuelindustries will increase by almost 10 times up to 20 million jobs. Chiu, Tsai, Chung, and Tien [6] indicated an increasing need for PV human resources due to the industry's rapid development in Taiwan. Universities successively established PV-related departments; therefore, exploration of the current status of PV talent development was the second motive of this study. Most research on talent development in national industries is concerned with medical and healthcare[7-11] and digital industries [12-16]. There were also studies on talent development in cultural and creative [17,18], sports [19-21], academia [22-25], agriculture [26], military [27,28], and service [29] industries. Yet talent development research in PV industry is rare. This study investigated current talent development status and constructed relevant standards in collaboration with experts from industry, government, and academia. The findings can provide practical and theoretical perspectives and serve as a reference for the policy makers in PVtalent development.