Taipei: The Ministry of Labor (MOL) will hold five job fairs at different venues in Taiwan this year, starting this month, in collaboration with companies that are offering thousands of opportunities, a ministry official said Saturday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the first job fair is scheduled for March 15 and will be held on the Guangfu Campus of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, which is co-organizing the event, Huang Chiao-ting, an official at the MOL's Workforce Development Agency, told CNA.

A total of 220 companies, including prominent ones such as MediaTek Inc., Decathlon Group, and Chungwha Telecom, are expected to participate in the first MOL job fair of the year, providing about 10,000 opportunities, Huang said. Job seekers interested in information technology areas such as IC design engineering and smart traffic application system development are encouraged to attend.

The other four job fairs will be held on May 17 at National Ilan University, June 14 at the Pingtung County Gym, June 28 at the Changhua County Stadium, and July 26 at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Huang said. In addition to job opportunities, the five fairs will also provide services such as career counseling and information on vocational training.

Every year, the Labor Ministry organizes a series of job fairs after the Lunar New Year holiday, the usual peak period for job searches and transitions in Taiwan.