Taipei: More than 21,000 people have signed up for Taiwan's new "AI application planner" certification since its launch in 2025, highlighting growing demand for practical artificial intelligence skills, a senior Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official said.

According to Focus Taiwan, the certification was introduced by the Industrial Development Administration (IDA) and attracted more than 10,000 applicants in its first year, with 8,464 people certified as of July 2026, IDA Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey said in a recent interview with CNA. The certification is offered four times a year at the entry level and twice annually at the intermediate level, with pass rates averaging 40-50 percent.

"The number of applicants reflects where market demand is," Chiou stated, noting that while certifications related to net-zero emissions had dominated in recent years, AI has now become the hottest field. Unlike developer certifications offered by companies such as Microsoft and Nvidia, the government program focuses on cultivating application-oriented AI talent by teaching workers how to use existing AI tools and simple programming to improve business operations.

Chiou mentioned that the initiative is part of the government's broader effort to help President Lai Ching-te achieve his goal of turning Taiwan into an "AI island" by accelerating AI adoption across industries. The MOEA aims to raise AI adoption in the manufacturing sector to 50 percent by 2028, up from just 6-7 percent when the target was first set. The push also reflects Taiwan's shortcomings in AI despite its global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.

Citing the Observer Global AI Index, Chiou noted that Taiwan climbed from 21st to 16th overall, but ranked only 33rd in AI talent and 30th in business environment, trailing Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China in both categories. "Taiwan is a global leader in AI hardware, but much of what we produce is used by others," he said. "There is still considerable room for growth in how we apply AI ourselves."

Chiou further explained that the benefits of the AI boom have largely been concentrated in the semiconductor and high-tech sectors, while many traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain in the early stages of AI adoption, creating what he described as an "M-shaped" pattern of development. To narrow that gap, the ministry has trained 700-800 AI consultants and aims to expand the team to 1,000, helping 14,000 businesses adopt AI over the next two years.

The government subsidizes consulting services by about NT$410,000 (US$12,837) per project, including up to NT$100,000 that companies can use to purchase software. Rather than encouraging businesses to deploy the most advanced AI systems, Chiou said firms should focus on selecting tools that best suit their operational needs. "Having more AI tools isn't necessarily better," he said. "The key is using the right tool for the right purpose."