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Employment

employment support. A participating employer who hires a person with disabilities having employment difficulties is entitled to an allowance amounting to a maximum of $35,000 over a period of up to eight months. In 2017, the scheme made 802 job placements.

Continuing Education Fund

The government subsidises continuing studies for adults. Eligible applicants who complete approved courses receive reimbursement of 80 per cent of the fees paid, capped at $10,000 per person. In 2017, over 25,000 applications to open Continuing Education Fund accounts were approved and subsidies totalling about $141 million were paid out.

Youth Employment and Training Programme

School-leavers aged between 15 and 24 with up to sub-degree education may 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 may get a maximum training allowance of $3,000 per month per employee for six to 12 months. In 2016-17, 5,720 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 department to improve their chances of employment and secure sustainable employment or self-employment. In 2017, the two centres served 72,878 young people.

Working Holiday Scheme

Hong Kong has bilateral working holiday arrangements with 12 economies: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 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 about Hong Kong.

Austria and the UK allow Hong Kong youths to stay for up to six and 24 months respectively. The remaining 10 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, except for Ireland, studying short-term courses.

As at end-2017, the scheme had recorded about 85,000 Hong Kong youth participants and welcomed about 10,000 youths from the partner economies to Hong Kong.

Employees Retraining Board

The Employees Retraining Board is a statutory body set up under the Employees Retraining Ordinance. The board provides, under its Manpower Development Scheme, market-driven training and employment support through about 90 appointed training bodies that operate a total of around 400 training centres. People aged 15 or above with up to sub-degree education

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