ENG-2009 — Page 179

Employment | 127

between 15 and 20 to regain an interest in learning to better recognise a career calling.

The ERB also runs a Training Resource Centre in Kowloon East and a pilot one- stop Training-cum-Employment Resource Centre in Kowloon West to provide different training and employment support services to the general public.

To increase the employment opportunities of its graduates, the ERB developed a 'Smart Living Scheme' in March to provide a platform for the free referral of its graduates in domestic help, post-natal care, infant and child care, elderly care, escort for out-patients, care for discharged and hospital patients, as well as healthcare

massage.

The ERB places strong emphasis on teaching generic cross-industry skills to enhance their employability. These include basic workplace speak in English, Putonghua and Cantonese, in arithmetic and IT applications.

The ERB continued to strengthen its quality assurance mechanism to ensure its courses met the requirements of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications for the purpose of recognition under the Qualifications Framework.

The Government stopped providing recurrent subvention to the ERB in 2008. Since then, its main income has come from the Employees Retraining Levy, collected from employers of imported workers who include foreign domestic helpers. The levy goes to the Employees Retraining Fund (ERF), which is administered by the ERB. The ERB would rely on the balance of the ERF to support its operation during the five- year suspension of the levy which started on August 1, 2008.

Skills Upgrading Scheme

A $400-million Skills Upgrading Scheme (SUS) provides training for in-service workers to help them adapt to changing economic needs. The scheme was providing training in 26 industries at the end of 2009. More than 12 000 classes were held and more than 260 000 training places were provided under the scheme since its inception in 2001. The ERB has begun taking over the administration of the SUS in phases and by industry categories by launching an improved scheme, Skills Upgrading Scheme Plus (SUS Plus), in 2009. SUS Plus provides in-service training as well as training for workers planning to change career.

A total of 13 000 training places were provided in 2009-10 under SUS Plus.

Continuing Education Fund

A $5 billion Continuing Education Fund (CEF) was launched in June 2002 to subsidise adults wishing to pursue continuing education courses in specific sectors, or those designed in accordance with the specifications of competency standards and registered under the Qualifications Register.

On successful completion of their courses under the CEF, eligible applicants are reimbursed 80 per cent of the fees they paid, which must not exceed $10,000 per person. In July 2009, $1.2 billion was injected into the fund as a special one-off