ENG-2011 — Page 180

140 | Employment

Hong Kong. In 2011, 38 645 talented people and professionals from more than 100 countries or territories were admitted for employment.

Employment of Non-local Students

Since May 19, 2008, non-local fresh graduates of full-time locally-accredited degree or higher level studies may apply to stay for one year in Hong Kong to take up employment. Those who have previously obtained a degree or higher qualification in a full-time and locally-accredited programme in Hong Kong may also apply to return to Hong Kong for employment if the job they have secured is at a level normally taken up by degree-holders and paid at market rates.

Supplementary Labour Scheme

Under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, employers may apply to import workers to fill vacancies at the technician level or below. The Government's policy on labour importation is based on two cardinal principles:

• local workers must be given priority in filling job vacancies available in the market; and

employers who are genuinely unable to recruit local workers to fill their vacancies should be allowed to import workers.

All applications made under the scheme are considered on a case-by-case basis. To ensure priority of employment for local workers, employers have to undertake a four-week open recruitment exercise for each application before their applications are submitted to the Labour Advisory Board for consideration and to the Government for a decision.

The requirements of open recruitment are: advertising in newspapers, job- matching by the Labour Department, and organising retraining courses for local workers with the assistance of the Employees Retraining Board, if appropriate.

At the end of 2011, there were 2 003 imported workers working in Hong Kong under the scheme.

Foreign Domestic Helpers

Foreign domestic helpers may be admitted if, subject to immigration control, they have relevant working experience; and if their employers are Hong Kong residents who will offer terms of employment as stipulated in the standard employment contract prescribed by the Government.

The terms of employment include free and suitable accommodation, free food or food allowance in lieu, wages not lower than the minimum allowable wage set by the Government, free passage from and to the helper's place of origin and free medical treatment. Employers must also meet required levels of income or assets.

The demand for foreign domestic helpers has increased steadily over the past three decades. At the end of 2011, there were 299 961 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, or 5 per cent up on 2010. About half of them are from Indonesia and the rest are mostly from the Philippines.

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