HONG KONG 2005

The Careers Advisory Service of the Labour Department, through the promotion of careers education, helps young people choose a career best suited to their talents, interests and abilities and also supports careers teachers with back-up information. The public can also find careers information on the service website www.careers.labour.gov.hk.

Throughout the year, the service arranged student group visits to its Careers Information Centre and various commercial and industrial establishments. Its Education and Careers Expo 2005 attracted 185 191 visitors, while the Information Expo for Secondary School Leavers which was co-organised with the Education and Manpower Bureau attracted 15 000 visitors.

In 2001, the Finance Committee approved the allocation of $400 million for focused skills training for workers with secondary, or below secondary education. By December 31, 2005, the number of industry sectors brought under the Skills Upgrading Scheme had increased from six in 2001 to 23. The sectors in the scheme at year-end were: printing; Chinese catering; retail; the import and export trade; transport; clothing and textiles; hotels; tourism; hairdressing; property management; insurance; electrical and mechanical engineering; real estate agents; building maintenance and decoration; beauty care; passenger transport; elderly care; film, TV and entertainment; sports and recreation; floral arts and horticulture; medical and health care; clocks, watches and jewellery and automobiles. By year-end, more than 139 000 in-service workers from around 6 700 classes had benefited from the training.

The Youth Pre-employment Training Programme was launched in 1999 to enhance the employability of school leavers aged 15 to 19 through employment-related training, workplace attachment, careers counselling and support services. The sixth programme was concluded in October 2005, with over 9 200 trainees taking part.

The seventh programme, for 2005-06, is being delivered in two phases. The first phase, which started in September, attracted some 4 700 participants.

The Labour Department launched the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme in July 2002 to provide six to 12 months of on-the-job training for people aged 15 to 24, with an education attainment below degree level. As well as pinpointing training vacancies in the public sector, it also canvasses the private sector industries for places. In addition, the scheme offers special employment projects tailor-made for different trades and occupations which provide a variety of training opportunities.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are commissioned to offer induction training and case management services to trainees. Case managers, who are registered social workers from NGOs, assist trainees to formulate career plans, identify suitable training vacancies, prepare for selection interviews, review their job search strategy and adapt to the work environment after they are placed into employment.

The original target of the scheme was to provide 20 000 training places by July 2006. This target was achieved in early April 2005, 16 months ahead of schedule. By year-end, 26 084 trainees were successfully placed in training vacancies under the scheme. In addition, 14 257 trainees were placed in other jobs on the open employment market with the advice and assistance of their case managers.

Feedback from trainees, employers and NGOs on the scheme is highly favourable. Independent consultants from the Centre for Social Policy Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University also confirmed the effectiveness of the scheme in enhancing the employability of young people in a comprehensive review on the scheme completed in 2005.

The Youth Self-employment Support Scheme was launched in May 2004 as a pilot project to train and assist young people aged 18 to 24 with education attainment below degree level who were assessed to have the motivation to become self-employed.

Under the scheme, a total of 1 475 trainees received a year's training and a full range of support services and facilities involving 36 projects, which were run by NGOs commissioned by the Labour Department. When the scheme ended in September 2005, the trainees had successfully completed 10 443 business transactions with recorded profits of more than $5.1 million.

The Employees Retraining Scheme (ERS) was launched in 1992 to help eligible workers adjust to changes in the economic environment. It is administered by the Employees Retraining Board (ERB), a statutory body of employers, employees and people in vocational training, retraining and manpower planning as well as the Government which was set up under the Employees Retraining Ordinance. In addition to regular income from a levy collected under the labour importation schemes, the Government provides a recurrent subvention amounting to $372 million in 2005-06.

The ERS focuses on assisting displaced workers who have experienced difficulties in seeking alternative employment. The main target group of the scheme is displaced workers aged 30 or over with no more than lower secondary education. The scheme offers a wide variety of full-time and part-time courses delivered through a network of more than 50 approved training bodies. The courses broadly fall into seven categories: courses on job search skills, job-specific skills, general skills (computer and vocational languages), courses for the elderly, courses for people with disabilities, tailor-made courses and self-employment courses. New courses with market potential and 'top up' modules are developed to equip retrainees with skills needed to enhance their employment opportunities and sustain their employability.

During the year, about 55 000 full-time and 54 000 part-time retraining places were provided under the ERS. The two Retraining Resource Centres, in Cheung Sha Wan and Lok Fu, continued to provide self-learning facilities, job market information and other supporting services to all graduate retrainees. The objective is to reinforce the effectiveness of the ERS and foster the concept of lifelong learning.

The Integrated Scheme for Local Domestic Helpers, an initiative launched in May 2002, provides a one-stop service for job placements, referrals and follow-up service for employers and graduate retrainees of domestic helper courses. Five months after its launch, the ERB set up the Practical Skills Training and Assessment Centre which initially administered standardised skill assessments for retrainees of domestic helper courses and issued competency cards in recognition of their skills level. The centre extended its skills assessment to retrainees of personal care worker courses in November 2004 and foot reflexology and healthcare massage retrainees in December 2005. The Special Incentive Allowance Scheme for Local Domestic Helpers was introduced by the Labour Department in June 2003 to promote the service of local helpers and address the mismatch in supply and demand. The scheme rules were further relaxed in December 2005 to allow more flexibility for eligible helpers to make claims. A sum of $60 million was earmarked to provide an allowance to qualified helpers who are willing to work across district or during unsocial hours (i.e., hours outside 9am to 5pm on Monday to Friday). Some 8 000 local helpers are expected to benefit from the scheme. As at year-end, there were some 6 150 successful applications.