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The Programme of Employment Services
(http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/service/content.htm)
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| 5.1 |
Unemployment
remains the foremost concern of the Labour Department
in 2004. To complement the job creation efforts of the
Government, we give every assistance to local job-seekers,
particularly the more vulnerable groups. The objective
of the Employment Services Programme is to provide a comprehensive
range of free and efficient employment assistance and
counselling services to help job-seekers find suitable
jobs and employers fill their vacancies. We achieve this
by:
- providing
user-friendly employment services to employers and job-seekers;
- offering
intensive employment-related assistance and personal
service to vulnerable groups of unemployed people;
- assisting
young people to enhance their employability and advising
them on careers choice;
- regulating
local employment agencies;
- safeguarding
the interests of local employees employed by employers
outside Hong Kong to work in other territories; and
- ensuring
that employment opportunities for local workers are
not adversely affected by abuse of the labour importation
scheme.
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| 5.2 |
The two principal legislation administered by this programme
area are the Employment Agency Regulations made under the
Employment Ordinance and the Contracts for Employment Outside
Hong Kong Ordinance. |
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| 5.3 |
The
Employment Agency Regulations, together with the Part
XII of the Employment Ordinance, regulate the operation
of employment agencies in Hong Kong through a licensing
system, inspection, investigation and prosecution.
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| 5.4 |
The
Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance safeguards
the interests of local manual workers and those non-manual
employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000 who
are recruited by employers outside Hong Kong to work in
other territories through the attestation of employment
contracts for these jobs.
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Our Work and Achievements in 2004
Employment Situation in Hong Kong
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| 5.5 |
The
labour market remained generally buoyant in 2004. The
department received an all-time high of 297 186
vacancies from the private sector, a hefty increase of
38 per cent when compared with 215 430 in
2003. For data on labour force, unemployment rate and
underemployment rate, please visit the following webpage:
http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/hkstat/fas/labour/ghs/labour1_index.html.
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Key Indicators of Work
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| 5.6 |
In
face of persistently high unemployment, the department
vigorously stepped up its employment services for job-seekers.
A record-high figure of 86 257 placements
was achieved for 2004, up 31 per cent over the level of
66 100 in 2003. (Figures
5.1 and 5.2)
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A Wider Service Choice
Services offered at Job Centres
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| 5.7 |
Job-seekers
can select suitable vacancies and seek referral service
at all job centres. Modern facilities such as digital
display system, self-service touch-screen vacancy search
terminals, fax machines, toll-free telephones, computers
connected to the Internet and a careers information corner
are available.
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User-friendly
facilities for job-seekers at all job centres. |
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Secretary
for Economic Development and Labour Mr Stephen Ip
Shu-kwan trying out the facilities at a job centre.
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| 5.8 |
Through the Job Matching Programme, placement officers help
job-seekers evaluate their academic qualifications, job
skills, work experience and job preferences, and encourage
them to look for suitable jobs actively. Placement officers
also introduce suitable retraining courses to job-seekers
where appropriate. |
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A
placement officer providing employment counselling
services to a job-seeker under the Job Matching Programme.
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| Telephone Employment Service
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| 5.9 |
Registered job-seekers may call our Telephone Employment
Service Centre at 2969 0888 for job referral
service. Through conference calls, staff of the Centre can
make arrangement for job-seekers to talk to employers directly.
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Internet Employment Service
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| 5.10 |
Our
Interactive Employment Service (iES) website (http://www.jobs.gov.hk)
provides round-the-clock Internet employment service and
comprehensive employment information. The iES is one of
the most popular government websites in Hong Kong, accounting
for about one-third of the page views for all government
websites. In 2004, the iES achieved a record number of
684 million page views, an increase of 10 per cent over
2003. It hyperlinks with leading employment websites in
Hong Kong and hosts a number of dedicated webpages for
specific clientele groups.
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The
highly popular Interactive Employment Service website.
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| Central Processing of Job Vacancies |
| 5.11 |
Employers who need to recruit staff can send their vacancy
information to our Job Vacancy Processing Centre by fax
(2566 3331) or telephone (2503 3377)
or through the Internet (http://www.jobs.gov.hk).
Vacancy information will be posted at all job centres and
uploaded onto the iES through computer network in one working
day. |
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| Special Recruitment Functions
and Promotional Activities |
| 5.12 |
We organise a variety of activities to promote our employment
services. Visits and briefings are conducted to appeal for
vacancies from employers. Recruitment seminars and job fairs
are held to facilitate job-seekers and employers to meet
and communicate directly. In 2004, these special recruitment
and promotional activities included territory-wide large-scale
job fairs as well as thematic functions such as "Recruitment
Forum for Property Management" and "Recruitment
Forum for Retail Industry". These activities reached
out to over 95 000 job-seekers and employers.
To respond more promptly to the recruitment needs of employers
and provide a more user-friendly service to job-seekers,
we also held job fairs at our major job centres to assist
employers to recruit staff and to enable job-seekers to
participate in job interviews on the spot. |
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Large-scale
recruitment activities provide opportunities for job-seekers
and employers to meet and communicate directly. |
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Intensified Services for the Most Needy
Middle-aged Job-seekers
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| 5.13 |
The Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged
was launched in May 2003 to provide intensive employment
service to job-seekers aged 40 or above who had been unemployed
for three months. Employers who engage a participant of
the programme in full-time permanent posts and offer him
on-the-job training will receive a training allowance of
$1,500 per month, for up to three months. As at the end
of 2004, 8 606 placements were achieved through
the programme. |
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Local Domestic Helpers (LDHs)
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| 5.14 |
To
address the mismatch in supply and demand in the LDH market
and to promote LDH service, the Special Incentive Allowance
Scheme was launched in June 2003. A sum of $60 million
was earmarked to provide incentive allowance to qualified
LDHs who are willing to work across districts or during
unsocial hours (i.e. 5 pm to 9 am). It is estimated that
some 8 000 LDHs will benefit from the scheme.
Successful applicants will receive an allowance of $50
per day, with an overall cap of $7,200. As at end-2004,
there were some 3 700 approved applications.
In 2004, we continued to publicise our dedicated employment
services for LDHs through the website of the iES, roving
exhibitions, job fairs and many other promotional efforts.
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New Arrivals
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| 5.15 |
We
provide through our job centres a comprehensive range
of employment services to new arrivals. These include
employment counselling, job referral, employment briefing
and employment information.
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Workers affected by Large-scale Retrenchment
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| 5.16 |
In
the event of major retrenchment, we will assign special
counters at the job centres or will render on-the-spot
employment services to workers affected. In 2004, the
service reached out to 1 038 retrenched workers
of 12 companies.
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University Graduates of 2003
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| 5.17 |
The
Graduate Employment Training Scheme was launched on 1
August 2003 in conjunction with seven local universities
to place fresh graduates into training posts under the
scheme. Employers providing on-the-job training for these
graduates received a training subsidy of $2,000 for six
months. The scheme was completed in June 2004 and more
than 1 300 graduates had been placed under
the scheme.
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Job-seekers with a Disability
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| 5.18 |
The
Selective Placement Division (SPD) offers employment assistance
to disabled job-seekers seeking open employment. Placement
officers will provide personalised counselling, employment
services and where appropriate, make referrals to tailor-made
retraining programmes. In 2004, SPD registered 4
002 disabled job-seekers and helped place 2
391 of them into employment. The placement rate
was 60 per cent. (Figure 5.3)
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A
Placement Officer of SPD accompanying her client to
attend a job interview. |
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| Trial Placement-cum-Mentor Scheme |
| 5.19 |
The Trial Placement-cum-Mentor Scheme for People with a
Disability was launched in January 2002. It aims at motivating
employers to recognise the working abilities of people with
a disability through a one-month trial placement, thereby
enhancing the employment opportunities of people with a
disability. Participating employers will receive a subsidy
equal to half of the wages paid in the one-month trial period,
subject to a ceiling of $3,000. A mentorship element has
been included in the scheme to help the disabled workers
on trial to settle in the jobs more easily. The response
from employers has been encouraging. By the end of 2004,
there were 411 employers offering 837 job vacancies. About
84 per cent of the 754 disabled persons participating in
the scheme were offered full-time employment by their employers
after the trial period. |
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| Self Help Integrated Placement
Service |
| 5.20 |
The
Self Help Integrated Placement Service (SHIPS) aims at
improving the job-searching skills of disabled job-seekers
and encouraging them to be more proactive in the search
for jobs, thereby enhancing their employment opportunities.
In 2004, 641 disabled job-seekers participated in the
programme. The overall placement rate was about 71 per
cent.
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| Interactive Selective Placement
Service (iSPS) Website |
| 5.21 |
The
Selective Placement Division (SPD) launched an Interactive
Selective Placement Service (iSPS) Website (http://www.jobs.gov.hk/isps)
in January 2003 to provide enhanced employment services
for disabled job-seekers and employers through the Internet.
The website enables disabled persons to register or renew
their registrations with SPD, browse job vacancy information
and perform preliminary job-matching. It also enables
employers to place vacancy orders with SPD, identify suitable
disabled job-seekers to fill their vacancies and request
SPD to refer candidates to them for selection interview.
Response to the iSPS has been very favourable. In 2004,
it recorded a total of 2 952 955 page views
and 9 437 online requests for SPD's services.
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Promotional Activities
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| 5.22 |
During the year, SPD organised the Outstanding Disabled
Employees Award and Enlightened Employers Award Presentation
Ceremony 2004 and produced a series of radio programmes
to enhance public understanding of the working abilities
of people with disabilities. We also held seminars for employers
and conducted special promotional campaigns on targeted
trades to canvass job vacancies. |
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Secretary
for Economic Development and Labour Mr Stephen Ip
Shu-kwan (fifth from left) pictured with 9 winners
of the "Enlightened Employers Award 2004".
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Services for Young People
Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YWETS)
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| 5.23 |
The
YWETS features 50 hours of guidance and counselling services
to trainees by case managers who are registered social workers;
40 hours of induction training on communication and interpersonal
skills for trainees; a training subsidy payable to employers
at the rate of $2,000 per trainee per month during the period
of on-the-job training; and a training allowance of $4,000
payable to trainees who undertake vocational training courses
on an off-the-job basis. |
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| 5.24 |
The
2004-05 programme year of YWETS focuses on the development
of special tailor-made projects for industries and individual
establishments. Since August 2004, a wide range of tailor-made
special employment projects providing some 1 000
training vacancies have been launched to enhance trainees'
vocational skills and to cater for sustainable career
development. These projects enable trainees to gain work
experience in various industries like aviation, tourism,
information technology, education and social services,
film and entertainment. With support from non-government
organisations participating in the YWETS, the "Action
S4" project which caters specifically for the needs
of the more vulnerable trainees has also been re-launched
with new features added.
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"Action
S4" Thanksgiving Day. |
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| 5.25 |
The YWETS aimed to provide 10 000 training
places for young people by July 2004. This was achieved
in November 2003, eight months ahead of schedule. Given
this success, the Administration has extended YWETS for
another two years to place an additional 10 000
youths into jobs. As at the end of 2004, 18 283
trainees were successfully placed in training vacancies
under the scheme. In addition, 10 925 trainees
were placed in other jobs in the open employment market
with the advice and assistance of their case managers. |
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| 5.26 |
Feedback
from trainees, employers and case managers on the YWETS
is highly favourable. Independent consultants from the
Centre for Social Policy Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University also confirmed the effectiveness of the scheme
in enhancing the employability of young people in a mid-term
review conducted in 2003.
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Youth Pre-employment Training Programme (YPTP)
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| 5.27 |
In
2004, we continued with the YPTP and provided a wide range
of employment-related training and workplace attachment
opportunities. Government departments, training bodies
and voluntary agencies join hands to provide the following
four modular training: (a) leadership, discipline and
team building; (b) job-search and interpersonal skills;
(c) elementary/ intermediate computer application; and
(d) job-specific skills training. Organisations from the
private and public sectors as well as social welfare agencies
offer workplace attachment places for trainees so they
can obtain practical work experience and better understand
the real work environment. Professional youth workers
are available to provide career counselling and support
services throughout the programme. In the new phase of
the programme, a number of training courses geared to
market needs have been added. Workplace English or Putonghua
has been included in the training to enhance trainees'
language ability.
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YPTP
trainees participating in leadership, discipline and
team building training. |
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YPTP
trainee acquires work experience in catering industry
through workplace attachment. |
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| Youth Self-employment Support
Scheme (YSSS) |
| 5.28 |
A total of 36 projects providing about 1 500
training places are implemented under the YSSS. Young people
joining the YSSS are provided with training and a full range
of support services for one full year by the commissioned
non-government organisations. The objective of the YSSS
is to promote self-employment, and the trainees are not
required to fund their own business during the training
and service period. |
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| 5.29 |
At
the close of the application period on 31 October 2004,
about 5 200 applications were received with
some 1 500 applicants accepted for participating
in the YSSS. To promote the YSSS and help trainees canvass
business opportunities, a Flea Market was staged on 20
November 2004. As at the end of 2004, the trainees have
conducted 1 420 business transactions with
gross profits of about $940,000 recorded.
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Large-scale
flea market organised by the Labour Department to
canvass business opportunities for trainees of the
Youth Self-employment Support Scheme. |
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Permanent
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Labour)
Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (sixth from right), accompanied
by trainees of the Youth Self-employment Support Scheme,
attends the opening ceremony of the flea market. |
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| Careers Information and Guidance
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| 5.30 |
Our Careers Advisory Service promotes careers education
and helps young people choose a career best suited to their
talents, interest and abilities. We provide up-to-date information
on employment and training opportunities as well as careers
counselling and guidance service through our careers information
centre. In addition, people can visit our website (http://www.labour.gov.hk/careers)
to have quick access to a wide range of careers information. |
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Staff
of the Careers Advisory Service counselling students.
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| 5.31 |
To enhance careers awareness among young people and provide
them with first-hand careers information, we organise a
variety of careers activities throughout the year. In February
2004, we jointly organised the Education and Careers Expo
with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for the 14th
time to provide the latest information on careers development
and further education opportunities. There were 375 participating
exhibitors from a wide range of trades, government departments
and professional bodies, as well as local and overseas educational
and training institutes. The event attracted 186 381
visitors and proved to be the most popular careers information
event in Hong Kong. |
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The
Labour Department provides careers information through
the Education & Careers Expo 2004. |
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| 5.32 |
We organised a special service package for Form 5 school
leavers in July and August to provide them with a full range
of counselling and information on careers and further education
opportunities. Hotline and chat room service were set up
for students and their parents. An Information Expo held
in collaboration with the Education and Manpower Bureau
attracted over 14 000 visitors. More than 90
000 copies of the tailor-made careers handbook were
distributed. |
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| 5.33 |
A
total of 41 719 participants took part in
an Online Careers Quiz organised by the department for
secondary students in November and December.
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| 5.34 |
Two
part-time certificate courses were organised for in-service
careers masters in the 2004/2005 school year in collaboration
with the Education and Manpower Bureau.
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Regulating Local Employment Agencies and Employment Outside
Hong Kong
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| 5.35 |
We
monitor the operation of employment agencies through licensing,
inspection and investigation of complaints. In 2004, 1
501 employment agency licences were issued. Eight
licences were revoked and two applications for issue of
licence refused. A total of 1 376 enforcement
inspections were made to employment agencies. At the end
of 2004, there were 1 435 licensed employment
agencies in Hong Kong.
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| 5.36 |
We
regulate employment outside the territory to safeguard
the interests of local employees engaged by employers
outside Hong Kong to work in other territories by attesting
all employment contracts entered in Hong Kong involving
manual employees and non-manual employees with monthly
wages not exceeding $20,000.
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Regulating Labour Importation
Supplementary Labour Scheme
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| 5.37 |
To
cater for the genuine needs of employers, the department
administers the Supplementary Labour Scheme that allows
the entry of imported workers to take up jobs at technician
level or below and which cannot be filled locally. The
scheme operates on the principles of ensuring the priority
of local workers in employment while allowing employers
with proven local recruitment difficulties to import labour
to fill the necessary job vacancies. As at the end of
2004, 891 workers were imported under the scheme in Hong
Kong.
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| 5.38 |
We
provide active job matching and referral services to local
job-seekers to ensure their employment priority. Vacancies
under the scheme are widely publicised locally. To facilitate
local workers in filling the vacancies, they could attend
tailor-made retraining courses, if appropriate. Applications
from employers who have set restrictive or unreasonable
requirements in terms of age, education, sex, skill or
experience for the vacancies or who have no genuine intention
to employ local workers will be rejected.
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Policy on Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs)
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| 5.39 |
FDHs
have been admitted to work in Hong Kong since 1970's.
FDHs (and other migrant workers) enjoy the same statutory
rights and benefits as local employees. The Government
attaches great importance to protecting the welfare of
FDHs, and has taken every step to safeguard their statutory
and contractual rights. The rights and benefits of FDHs
are widely publicised. Claims of breach of statutory rights
will be promptly investigated and prosecution action will
be taken if there is sufficient evidence.
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| 5.40 |
As
at the end of 2004, there were 218 430 FDHs
in Hong Kong, an increase of 0.7 per cent compared with
216 863 in 2003. About 54.8 per cent of the
FDHs in Hong Kong were from the Philippines and 41.2 per
cent from Indonesia.
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