ENG-2010 — Page 172

126 | Employment

programme year of 2009-10, over 16 500 applications were received. The Labour Department will continue to provide one-stop and diversified training and employment services for young people in collaboration with employers and training bodies.

Internship Programme for University Graduates

The Labour Department launched a time-limited Internship Programme for University Graduates in August 2009 for 2008 and 2009 university graduates to work as interns in Hong Kong or Mainland enterprises for six to 12 months to foster their career development. The programme was discontinued on March 31, 2010 after the economy improved.

Under the programme, 1 692 graduates secured internships in Hong Kong and 236 served as interns in the Mainland.

Youth Employment Support

The Labour Department has two youth employment resource centres called 'Youth Employment Start' to offer one-stop and personalised career advice and support services to young people aged between 15 and 29. The centres provide career assessments and guidance, value-added training, support services for the self- employed, and labour market information to help young people plan their careers, enhance their job prospects, and carry out their own businesses.

In 2010, the two centres had provided services to 72 606 young people.

Employees Retraining Board

The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) is a statutory body set up under the Employees Retraining Ordinance. Its members include employer and employee representatives, people in the vocational training, retraining and manpower planning fields, as well as government officials. It is a co-ordinating, quality assuring and funding body which works with appointed training bodies in the provision of training and related services.

Following its repositioning, the ERB now provides, under its 'Manpower Development Scheme', market-driven training and employment support services through its network of about 90 appointed training bodies operating some 370 training centres across Hong Kong. People aged 15 or above with education attainment at sub-degree level or below may enrol in its full-time placement-tied skills training and part-time skills upgrading or generic skills training courses. As at end of December 2010, there were about 600 courses covering 27 industries.

The ERB also offers the Youth Training Programme to help non-engaged youths aged between 15 and 20 to regain an interest in learning and embark on better career planning and development. The ERB is also dedicated to providing appropriate training and employment support services to other target groups which include new arrivals, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, people recovered from work injury and occupational diseases, as well as rehabilitated offenders.