Employment & Empowerment

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Employment & Empowerment

Illustrative enhanced image of two women working together at a loom during a skills-training session

Employment & Empowerment

Skills for Work. Pathways to Opportunity.

MSM helps adults and families overcome barriers to work through practical training, supported practice, and pathways to employment or independent livelihoods.

Explore the Pathway Explore Partnership

The Challenge

The Barriers Begin Before the Job Search

Many adults are missing from unemployment figures because they have stopped actively looking for work. Care responsibilities, age-related hiring barriers, outdated qualifications, and unstable work can all make a conventional full-time job difficult to reach or sustain.

2.9M+

Ages 25–64

People outside Taiwan's labor force and therefore not counted as unemployed.

70%+

Care Responsibilities

Among women in the specified non-job-seeking group, more than 70% cite housework or family care.

40–45%+

Economic Hardship

The leading reason vulnerable families are opened as cases in cited safety-net statistics.

70.3%

Primary Earners Ages 45–64

Share of cited local-government cases opened for family economic hardship in this age group.

Care and Work Collide

Standard schedules often leave little room for childcare, elder care, or supporting a family member with a disability.

Experience Is Overlooked

Age-related bias and changing qualification requirements can narrow the options available to experienced adults.

The Transition Is Risky

Families need a gradual path from unstable income or assistance toward work that is consistent enough to sustain them.

Sources: Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Manpower Utilization Survey; Ministry of Health and Welfare, Social and Family Affairs Administration, Strengthening Social Safety Net Program; selected local-government vulnerable-family statistics.

How MSM Helps

From Training to Supported Transition

MSM's Equip, Practice, Send model responds to the real barriers that can make training alone insufficient.

MSM-style illustration of an adult learner practicing a trade skill with guidance from an older trainer

Step 1

Equip

Build practical, market-relevant skills through hands-on learning and supportive coaching.

MSM-style illustration of an adult learner applying food-service skills with support from an older mentor

Step 2

Practice

Apply new skills in a real or simulated work setting with time to build confidence and adapt.

MSM-style illustration of a participant using new skills to serve a customer with an older mentor nearby

Step 3

Send

Where appropriate, support a transition toward paid work or an independent, locally rooted livelihood.

Where Pathways Take Shape

Different Barriers Require Different Routes

MSM adapts the pathway to the participant, the local economy, and the kind of opportunity that can be sustained.

Skills-to-Work Support

For Adults Facing Barriers to Work

Caregivers, adults rebuilding after a family crisis, and midlife or older jobseekers may need more than a referral. MSM combines practical training with supported practice and workplace-adaptation guidance.

Examples include household trades, caregiving skills, hospitality, food service, digital basics, and peer mentorship.

Community Livelihood Development

For People Building Opportunity Close to Home

In Indigenous and rural communities, the right pathway may be an independent livelihood rather than an outside placement. Training can help adults develop locally rooted production skills and participate in community economic networks.

Examples include egg farming, mushroom cultivation, traditional weaving, food production, and community walking tours.

Sisy leading a learning session for older adults in a classroom

A Story of Growth

Sisy: From Participant to Community Educator

Sisy joined MSM's 50+ program ready to build something new from her experience in education and curriculum design. She trained as a Silver Leader, equipping her to lead workshops and support other older adults in her community.

Today, she works as a paid community educator and hosts a podcast exploring the possibilities of a purposeful third act. Her path shows what practical training can make possible: a strong foundation from which someone can shape their own next chapter.

Trained Silver Leader Paid Community Educator Podcast Host

Sisy, graduate of MSM's Silver Leader training · Shared with consent.

A Vision for Partnership

Build the Pathway With Us

Companies can contribute more than funding. A structured partnership can strengthen the full pathway from skills training to supported practice and, where appropriate, transition into work or independent livelihoods.

Equip

Share Skills and Resources

Contribute professional expertise, trainers, learning resources, equipment, or insight into real market needs.

Practice

Open a Real-World Setting

Offer supervised internships, workplace visits, production settings, or other spaces where participants can practice safely.

Send

Expand Access to Opportunity

Explore inclusive hiring, role redesign, flexible work, market access, or support for independent producers and local enterprises.

A Trusted Partner

Experience, Accountability, and Local Reach

1952

Serving Taiwan Since 1952

More than seven decades of community-based service and partnership.

2024

Aurora Trust Award

Recognized for high-impact and innovative nonprofit work.

Partners

Corporate Collaboration

Micron Technology and the Starbucks Foundation have supported skills and employment initiatives in Hualien.

Partner to Expand Inclusive Pathways to Work

MSM welcomes companies and institutions ready to help people build practical skills, gain supported experience, and move toward sustainable opportunity.

Explore Corporate Partnership →

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