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CommuNityThe Jobs Registry ProjectTExT: KATHY VAn WILGEnBuRGTaipei has so many excitingopportunities for expats.Most people can be as busythey want, and still wish theyhad more time for all of the coolactivities available. It’s comfortingto find reasonably priced helpwith the household, cooking andkids. However, finding an Englishspeakingperson to employ is noteasy. It’s also confusing to try todetermine whether or not the personhired has legal working status. Thisis a risk many do not wish to take,as it can compromise their ownworking visa, or that of a familymember. Businesses also run a risk inregard to their business license.THE LANGUAGE BARRIERHaving lived here in Taipei foreleven months, my solution was tohire a Taiwanese cleaning agency.These folks are top notch. Theycome equipped with their owncleaning equipment and chemicals.The employees are well trained.They are on time and reasonablypriced. They are super nice anddo a good job. There is just oneproblem: I can’t talk to them. Ican’t even talk to the supervisors orthe management without a translator,and I had to sign a contract writtencompletely in Chinese. There has tobe a better way.FILLING A GAPIt turns out that there is a betterway, one that has been time-testedfor many years in Manila by theAmerican Women’s Club of thePhilippines. They operate a jobsregistry out of the Holy TrinityChurch. The registry is an onlinemessaging board where members canpost information on domestic helpwith their references. The systemensures the best employees with thebest references always have work intheir organization.Their example was the inspirationfor the Jobs Registry Project,sponsored as a ministry of the TaipeiInternational Church (TIC). Thisproject is supported by the TagalogFellowship (ministering to theFilipino community) and executed bythe Gateway Women’s Ministry, bothof TIC. It is fully in line with theorganization charter of the church byministering to both English-speakinglabor and employers.The purpose of this outreach isto fill a gap in the English-speakingcommunity. It is free, and is fullysupported by an expat attorney whobelieves in this effort and donates histime.CONNECTING ENGLISH-SPEAKING LABOR WITH JOBSThe project seeks to connect laborand jobs in the areas of domestichelpers, elderly care givers, food andbeverage, factory, and construction.It doesn’t seek to help those whereexisting employment agencies alreadyhave programs. For example,there are existing agencies forEnglish speakers with high levels ofeducation or special skills. Thereare agencies that place full-timeAmahs from other countries to livein the homes of employers. Thisservice utilizes the existing labormarket in Taiwan.20march 2012 www.communitycenter.org.tw