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Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged launched

The Labour Department has launched the Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged (RTP) to help middle-aged job-seekers secure sustainable employment through targeted employment assistance and on-the-job training.

"The RTP aims to encourage employers to recruit middle-aged unemployed people and provide on-the-job training for them. About 12,000 job-seekers are expected to benefit from the RTP. All job-seekers who are aged 40 or above and have been unemployed for three months are eligible to join the RTP," a spokesman for the department said today (May 11).

"The department will provide tailor-made employment assistance and job referral service to participating job-seekers. Employers offering vacancies and on-the-job training will be given training allowances," he said.

"Employers, who engage RTP participants in full-time permanent jobs and offer three months on-the-job training to equip them with the necessary job-specific skills, will be given a training allowance of $1,500 per month for up to three months for each participant upon completion of the training," he added.

To ensure that appropriate jobs and training are provided to participants, employers applying for on-the-job training allowance are required to:

  • offer full-time, permanent jobs and salaries not lower than the market rate;
  • formulate on-the-job training plans and offer training in the first three months of employment;
  • assign experienced staff as mentors of participants;
  • hold a valid Business Registration Certificate.

"The department will vet the relevant information or visit the employers and participants to understand their work and training," the spokesman said.

Interested job-seekers may register in person at any of the department's job centres. Employers can register their vacancies in the department's vacancy order form and indicate a preference for employing RTP participants on the form. The department will provide one-stop job referral service and help employers find suitable candidates.

For enquiries, call the RTP hotline at 2150 6398 or email rtp_enq@labour.gov.hk