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Enterprises and organisations from all sectors are invited to offer training positions to the "Internship Programme for University Graduates" (GIP) from today (June 10).
About 4,000 places for university graduates to work as interns and receive training in local or Mainland enterprises for six to 12 months will be offered under GIP. Up to 1,000 of the 4,000 places will be earmarked for Mainland internship opportunities.
"GIP provides an additional choice for recent university graduates amid the deteriorating employment market as a result of the financial tsunami," Programme Director of the GIP Office of the Labour Department Mr Raymond Ho said. "GIP also aims to broaden the graduates¡¯ horizons, helping them gain work experience and nurturing talent for Hong Kong. Those Hong Kong residents who have obtained full-time bachelor or higher degrees in 2008 or 2009 are eligible to join GIP," Mr Ho said.
He said that enterprises and organisations joining GIP would need to draw up training plans for the interns and provide them with appropriate training and guidance by experienced employees who served as mentors of the interns. The participating enterprises and organisations are required to provide an undertaking that the interns will not displace their existing staff.
Enterprises and organisations offering local internships will assume the capacity of employers and have to pay interns wages commensurate with the duties, responsibilities and training contents of the positions. The employers will be eligible for a training subsidy of $2,000 per intern per month payable by the Government. The 12 Participating Tertiary Institutions (PTIs) and the GIP Office would vet the local internship places offered taking into consideration the job nature, training contents, the benefits that the graduates can derive from the internships, as well as whether the wages offered are on a par with the market wage levels for similar positions.
Mainland internships will not be premised on an employment relationship. The Government will provide for each intern a living allowance of $3,000 per month and, depending on circumstances, an accommodation allowance of $1,500 per month. The Government will also take out an insurance policy for graduates participating in Mainland internships.
The training positions approved would be opened to interested university graduates from August 1.
The 12 PTIs are the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Open University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Hong Kong Shue Yan University, the Lingnan University, the Chu Hai College of Higher Education and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Interested enterprises and organisations can get a GIP leaflet and relevant forms for submission of training positions from the PTIs, LD's Job Centres and website (http://www.labour.gov.hk). For training positions to be offered to graduates of PTIs, the completed forms should be submitted to the relevant PTI(s). For places offered to Hong Kong residents who have graduated from universities outside Hong Kong, the completed forms should be submitted to Labour Department's GIP Office.
Mr Ho appealed for all sectors to support this worthwhile programme. Any enquiries on participation should be directed to the GIP Office on tel. 2852 3636 or the PTIs as follows:
Tertiary Institution Telephone No.
University of Hong Kong 2859 2314
Chinese University of Hong Kong 2609 7202
City University of Hong Kong 3442 5317
Hong Kong Polytechnic University 2766 6800
Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology 2358 6688
Hong Kong Baptist University 3411 7440
Open University of Hong Kong 2768 6634
Hong Kong Institute of Education 2948 6245
Hong Kong Shue Yan University 2806 5158
Lingnan University 2616 7410
Chu Hai College of Higher Education 2408 9928
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts 2584 8549
Ends/Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:01
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