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Employment

hires a person under the scheme was increased by $9,000 to $60,000 over the nine-month on-the-job training period. In 2020, 809 job placements were made under the scheme.

Continuing Education Fund

The fund provides adults with subsidies for continuing learning. About 26,578 reimbursement claims were approved and subsidies totalling about $220 million were paid out in the year.

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. Government departments, employers and non-governmental organisations work together under this programme 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 training allowance for six to 12 months, increased in September from $4,000 to $5,000 per month. In 2019-20, 3,418 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 help secure their sustainable employment or self-employment. In 2020, services were provided to young people by the two centres 21,705 times.

Retention Allowance

The department launched a pilot scheme in September to encourage eligible participants in the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, the Youth Employment and Training Programme and the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme to complete on-the-job training by paying them a retention allowance, up to a maximum of $12,000 per employee.

Working Holiday Scheme

Hong Kong has bilateral working holiday arrangements with 14 economies: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy (commencement date to be confirmed), Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The scheme enables Hong Kong youths aged 18 to 30 to broaden their horizons by experiencing different cultures through living and working temporarily overseas while holidaying, and allows youths from the partner economies to learn about Hong Kong.

The majority of Working Holiday Scheme partner economies allow Hong Kong youths to stay for up to 12 months for holidaying, short-term employment to support their travel expenses and (except for Ireland) short-term courses.

As at December, the scheme had recorded about 97,000 Hong Kong youth participants and welcomed about 14,000 youths from the partner economies to Hong Kong.

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