Employment
spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, specific learning difficulties or attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. In 2018, the department registered 2,766 job-seekers with disabilities and secured 2,219 placements.
The Work Orientation and Placement Scheme improves employment opportunities for people with disabilities by paying employers an allowance to encourage them to provide jobs and employment support. In September, the maximum allowance payable to a participating employer who hired a person with disabilities having employment difficulties increased by $16,000 to $51,000, and the maximum payment period was extended from eight months to nine. In 2018, the scheme made 796 job placements.
Continuing Education Fund
The government subsidises continuing learning for adults. In 2018, over 26,000 applications to open Continuing Education Fund accounts were approved and subsidies totalling about $124 million were paid out. In May, $10 billion was injected into the fund to support the implementation of enhancement measures from April 2019.
Youth Employment and Training Programme
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School-leavers aged between 15 and 24 with up to sub-degree education may choose from a range of pre-employment and on-the-job training. This programme is an effective platform for government departments, employers and non-governmental organisations to work together to help young people enhance their employability, improve job search skills and secure employment. Participating employers who engage eligible young people and provide them with on-the-job training may get a training allowance, the ceiling of which was raised in September from $3,000 per month to $4,000 per month per employee for six to 12 months. In 2017-18, 4,694 school-leavers enrolled on the programme.
Youth Employment Support
People aged between 15 and 29 may make use of one-stop advisory and support services at two youth employment resource centres called Youth Employment Start, which are operated by the department to improve their chances of employment and help secure their sustainable employment or self-employment. In 2018, services provided to young people by the two centres totalled 72,899 times.
Working Holiday Scheme
Hong Kong has bilateral working holiday arrangements with 13 economies: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The scheme enables Hong Kong youths aged 18 to 30 to broaden their horizons by experiencing foreign culture through living and working temporarily overseas while holidaying, and allows youths from the partner economies to learn about Hong Kong.
The UK allows Hong Kong youths to stay for up to 24 months. The remaining 12 partner economies issue working holiday visas to Hong Kong youths to stay for up to 12 months for
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