ENG-1999 — Page 171

EMPLOYMENT

careers information published by the service through its web site on the Internet (http://www.careers.labour.gov.hk).

The service also organises a wide range of careers guidance activities for young people. The Education and Careers Expo '99 organised in February attracted more than 190 000 visitors. A total of 162 251 students took part in the Careers Quiz ‘99 organised in October. Throughout the year, the service organised careers talks and arranged student group visits to careers information centres and various commercial and industrial establishments.

Employees Retraining Scheme

The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) consists of a governing body comprising representatives from the Government, employers, employees, training institutions and human resource professionals.

The Employees Retraining Fund was set up in 1992 to support the operation of the Employees Retraining Scheme (ERS). The Government injected an initial start-up capital of $300 million into the fund in 1992, with three further injections totalling $1.3 billion. Other sources of income include a levy charged on employers with imported workers under the labour importation scheme, at the rate of $400 per worker per month.

The ERS was initially focused on assisting displaced workers who had experienced difficulties in finding alternative employment. The scheme's main target group is displaced workers aged 30 or over with lower secondary education or less. Since April 1, 1998, the board has allowed some flexibility for training bodies to enrol retrainees who are under 30 years of age but have encountered difficulties in securing employment.

The scheme offers a wide variety of day and evening courses delivered through a network of over 50 approved training bodies. The courses broadly fall into six categories: job-search skills courses, job-specific skills courses, general skills courses, courses for the elderly, courses for people with disabilities and tailor-made courses. To achieve its mission to enhance the employability of the unemployed and potentially unemployed to meet the needs of employers and the Hong Kong economy, the ERB has adopted a new market-driven and flexible strategic plan to implement various new initiatives. These are: (1) to enhance the quantity and quality of courses and services; (2) to extend its scope of services; (3) to upkeep market intelligence; (4) to strengthen partnership with employers and stakeholders; (5) to enhance cost effectiveness; (6) to foster a positive corporate image.

Moreover, the board has set up Course Steering Groups in respect of different training programmes for the purpose of course restructuring, modularising, standardisation and development of a common assessment system. In parallel, various Trade Advisory Groups, with the participation of employers and trade associations, have also been established to advise on the market demand and evaluation of the relevant training programmes. In order to uphold the principle of life-long learning and reinforce the scheme's effectiveness, two Retraining Resource Centres are being set up to provide self-learning facilities and job market information and other supporting services to all retrainees and graduates.

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