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Employment

illness, autism, intellectual disability, specific learning difficulties and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. In 2016, the department registered 2,790 job-seekers with disabilities and secured 2,250 placements.

The Work Orientation and Placement Scheme improves employment opportunities for people with disabilities by paying an allowance to encourage employers to provide jobs and employment support. A participating employer who hires a person with disabilities having employment difficulties is entitled to an allowance of up to $5,500 per month for the first two months of employment. After the first two months, the employer is entitled to up to $4,000 per month for a maximum of six months. In 2016, the scheme made 816 job placements.

A two-year pilot scheme was launched in September to engage a non-governmental welfare organisation to provide free psychological and emotional counselling to job-seekers with disabilities.

Preparing People for Work

Youth Employment and Training Programme

School-leavers aged between 15 and 24 with up to sub-degree education choose from a full range of pre-employment and on-the-job training under the programme. This 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 are entitled to a maximum training allowance of $3,000 per month per employee for six to 12 months. In 2015-16, 6,165 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 Labour Department to improve their chances of employment and secure sustainable employment or self-employment. In 2016, the two centres provided services to 72,661 young people.

Working Holiday Scheme

Hong Kong has bilateral working holiday arrangements with 11 economies: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom (UK). 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 more about Hong Kong.

Austria and the UK allow Hong Kong youths to stay for up to six and 24 months respectively. The remaining nine partners issue working holiday visas to Hong Kong youths to stay in their economies for up to 12 months for holidaying, taking up short-term employment to supplement their travel expenses and/or studying short-term courses (except Ireland).

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