Education, Employment and Development Opportunities
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For meeting on 19 October 2013 Paper Ref: CSD/2/2013 Commission on Strategic Development Young People – Education, Employment and Development Opportunities (Follow-up Discussion) Introduction The Commission on Strategic Development (CSD) discussed the topic “Youth – Education, Employment and Development Opportunities” (Paper Ref: CSD/1/2013) at the last meeting held on 14 September 2013. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman suggested that the discussion should continue at a meeting to be convened in a few weeks’ time. Subsequent to the meeting, Members were invited to submit their views on: • Education and jobs available to young people • Linkage between education and vocation • Overseas (including the Mainland) exposure of young people through work or study • Student loans for students of tertiary education institutions from CSSA families • Dissemination of education and vocational information to young people via social media Submissions from Members and information provided by bureaux 2. The Secretariat has received the following eight submissions from Members: (a) Suggestions on possible Government actions in respect of views expressed at the last meeting provided by Hon Sir David AKERS-JONES (circulated to Members on 9 October 2013); (b) Suggestions on possible Government actions in respect of views expressed at the last meeting provided by Mr Nicholas BROOKE (circulated to Members on 11 October 2013); - 1 - (c) Suggestions on possible Government actions in respect of views expressed at the last meeting provided by Hon CHAN Kin-por (circulated to Members on 8 October 2013); (d) Transcript of an interview given by Prof CHENG Kai-ming on the significance of his essay “Learning and society in a post-industrial era”, provided by Prof Cheng (circulated by Prof Cheng to Members on 1 October 2013); (e) Paper on “Youth – education, employment and development opportunities” provided by Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che (circulated to Members on 8 October 2013); (f) Paper on “Strategic development of Hong Kong through creating an innovation eco-system for SMEs” provided by Mr SHENG Len-tao, Andrew and Dr TSE Cho-che, Edward (circulated by Mr Sheng to Members on 27 September 2013); (g) Suggestions on possible Government actions in respect of views expressed at the last meeting provided by Dr Peter Cookson SMITH (circulated to Members on 11 October 2013); and (h) Suggestions on possible Government actions in respect of views expressed at the last meeting provided by Dr TSE Cho-che, Edward (circulated to Members on 9 October 2013). 3. To facilitate discussion, the Secretariat asked Education Bureau (EDB), Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) and Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) to provide replies to a list of questions relevant to last meeting’s discussion. The questions, together with the information provided by the bureaux, are at Annex A to Annex G for Members’ reference. Issues for Discussion 4. Members are invited to give their views and suggestions on the following – (a) On top of the work done by the Government, what further policies and measures may be introduced to increase the - 2 - employment and career development opportunities of our young people? (b) Despite the Government’s efforts in promoting the training opportunities and employment services available to young people, some may not be very well-informed in these aspects. Through what channels can we reach out to more young people to facilitate them to make the best use of available training opportunities and employment services? (c) It is important to give our young people hope for the future, and encourage them to plan for their life and career. How may the Government enhance communication with our young people and give them encouragement and inspiration? Secretariat to the Commission on Strategic Development October 2013 - 3 - Annex A Education, employment services and jobs available to young people (1) What are the number of student places provided by secondary schools, vocational institutions, UGC-funded institutions and other tertiary institutions? EDB’s response: The Government is committed to providing quality, flexible and diversified study pathways with multiple entry and exit points for secondary school leavers. At present, there are 17 local degree-awarding institutions. In the 2013/14 academic year, there are about 22 260 intake places for full-time locally-accredited publicly-funded and self-financing undergraduate programmes. In addition, there are about 22 institutions offering about 39 500 full-time locally-accredited sub-degree programmes for the 2013/14 academic year. Moreover, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) offers about 45 000 full-time student places. Besides, the VTC also provides industry-specific and subject-specific non-award bearing training courses of short duration involving about 200 000 training places. For the Yi Jin Diploma (YJD) Programme, there are 7 self-financing provider institutions which together offer around 5 000 full-time places annually. For school year 2012/13, the total number of student places provided by ordinary secondary schools is 470 964. (2) For students who have finished S.3, apart from continuing their studies in traditional academic schools, what other institutions can they attend to obtain vocational education/training or other types of education/training? EDB’s response: VTC offers full-time vocational education programmes, such as Diploma in Vocational Education and Foundation Diploma, for Secondary 3 leavers so that they can acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for further study and employment. P. 1 The YJD Programme admits (a) secondary 6 school leavers and (b) adult learners aged 21 years or above (for adult learners irrespective of their previous educational attainment). Hence, for those who have left school after S.3, they can be admitted to the YJD Programme on reaching the age of 21. (3) For students who have finished S.3 and decide to work, what are the main types of jobs they can find? Are there any jobs where the minimum age requirement is higher than 15, say, jobs which can only be taken up by people over 18? LWB’s response: In general, students who have finished S.3 and are aged 15 or above are free to choose their preferred jobs. According to the records of the Labour Department (LD), about 60% of our registered job seekers who are aged between 15 and 19 are interested in finding service work, such as shop sales/assistant or waiter/waitress. On the other hand, the Employment of Young Persons (Industry) Regulations, made under the Employment Ordinance, govern the employment of young persons who have reached 15 but still under 18 years of age in industrial undertakings. They are not allowed to work in dangerous trades such as boiler chipping, manufacture of glass, mercury, sulphuric acids, etc. and to carry any unreasonably heavy load at work. There are also restrictions on working hours, rest intervals and rest days. Moreover, young persons who work in construction sites or restaurants with liquor licence should be aged 18 or above. (4) What are the employment services provided by LD to young people (mainly those aged 15-24) in training, career guidance, job-matching, etc? What are the main types of jobs available to them? LWB’s response: To help young people seek employment and enhance their employability, LD administers the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) and operates two youth employment resources centres named the Youth Employment Start (Y.E.S.). P. 2 YETP provides a comprehensive platform of job search with one-stop and diversified pre-employment and on-the-job training for young school leavers aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree or below level. YETP enables young people to better understand themselves while enriching their job skills and working experiences. Enrolment is on a year-round basis. Young people joining YETP are entitled to a full range of services including: free pre-employment training (trainees upon completion of the training courses with 80% attendance or above will be eligible for training allowances); workplace attachment training for one month (trainees upon completion of the training will be eligible for a training allowance of $3,000); on-the job training of six to 12 months with remuneration; reimbursement of off-the-job course and examination fees up to $4,000; and case management services on career guidance and employment support rendered by registered social workers. Main types of job vacancies offered under YETP are shop sales, sales representatives, technicians, waiters/waitresses, clerical posts, kitchen helpers etc. Apart from running YETP, LD has set up two Y.E.S. in Mongkok and Kwai Fong. Through these centres, LD provides one-stop advisory and support services on employment and self-employment to young people aged 15 to 29 with a view to enhancing their employability, facilitating their access to the latest labour market information and helping them map out their career path. The resource centres offer a wide range of services, including career assessment and guidance, professional counseling, value-added training, support services for nurturing core work values and upgrading job search skills, self-employment support as well as provision of the latest labour market information. In addition to the dedicated youth employment services, young people may also make use of a full range of employment services offered by LD to job seekers. They can easily access the vacancy information and find work through 12 Job Centres (JCs), two industry-based recruitment centres for the catering and retail industries, a Telephone Employment Service Centre, the Interactive Employment Services (iES) Website with its mobile applications, and numerous vacancy search terminals (VST) installed at different locations in the territory. Large-scale job fairs are organised by P. 3 LD regularly and some of them are tailor made to the employment needs of young people. (5) What are the apprenticeship/traineeship schemes run by the Government/statutory bodies/NGOs/private sector for young people? LWB’s response: The Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap.