EMPLOYMENT
Skills Upgrading Scheme
The Finance Committee approved on June 1 the allocation of $400 million for the provision of focused skills training for workers with secondary, or below, education. The Steering Committee on Skills Upgrading comprising representatives of industry, training providers, employees and the Government identified six sectors for the pilot phase of the scheme. These included printing, Chinese catering, textiles/clothing, import/export, transport and retail. Detailed training programmes were drawn up, and the courses launched in September. The enrolment at the end of the year was 2904. In November, the scheme was expanded to cover four new sectors: tourism, hotels, property management and hairdressing.
Youth Pre-employment Training Programme
The second Youth Pre-employment Training Programme launched in September 2000 was concluded in June. Altogether 12 066 trainees participated in the programme. It provided comprehensive employment-related training, workplace attachment and on-the-job training opportunities to young school leavers aged between 15 and 19. The programme was completed with great success. Survey returns from trainees, training bodies and employers showed impressive levels of satisfaction. The third programme was launched in September. It offered more customised service in employment-related training, workplace attachment and on-the-job training. The three-month On-the-Job Training Scheme further enhanced the employment prospects of trainees.
A web site was set up to provide up-to-date information on the programme.
Over 600 organisations participated in the first phase of the YPT Programme 2001-02 which offered about 44 000 training places and over 8 700 workplace attachment opportunities. Some 7 900 young people participated in the first phase of the programme.
Employees Retraining Scheme
The Employees Retraining Scheme (ERS) was set up in 1992 to provide retraining to eligible workers to assist them to take on new or enhanced skills so that they can adjust to changes in the economic environment, and have their employability enhanced. It is administered by the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) which is an independent statutory body set up under the Employees Retraining Ordinance and comprises representatives from the Government, employers, employees, training institutions and human resources professionals. In addition to regular income from a levy collected under the labour importation scheme, the Government is providing a recurrent subvention to the ERB from 2001-02 onwards. The subvention in 2001-02 amounts to $400 million.
The ERS focuses on assisting displaced workers who have experienced difficulties in finding alternative employment. The main target group of the scheme is displaced workers aged 30 or over with lower secondary education or below. The scheme offers a wide variety of full-time and part-time courses delivered through a network of over 50 approved training bodies. The courses broadly fall into seven categories: courses on job search skills, job-specific skills, general skills (computer and vocational English), courses for the elderly, courses for people with disabilities, tailor-made courses and self-employment courses.
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