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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 30):
Question:
It has been reported that while the present number of unemployed young people aged 15 to 34 approaches 60 000, there are over 20 000 job vacancies in the retail, hotel and catering industries, and more than 3 000 vacancies in the construction industry. There is a view that should this group of young people fill the vacancies in these four industries, the problem of unemployment among young people will be ameliorated, and the problem of manpower shortage in these industries will also be alleviated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has studied the causes for the aforesaid phenomenon of manpower mismatch; if it has, of the findings of the studies;
(b) whether it has compiled statistics on the education level and the marital status of the people aged 15 to 34 who are currently unemployed; if it has, of the statistics;
(c) among the people aged 15 to 34 who are currently unemployed, of the number of those who had received payments under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme due to unemployment in the past three years; and
(d) whether the authorities will formulate new initiatives to encourage young people to seek employment; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan is as follows:
(a) Generally, in the employment market, there are unemployed persons looking for jobs and, at the same time, there are vacancies to be filled. It may be due to the reason that some unemployed persons are not willing to take up those kinds of jobs not fitting their requirements in terms of job nature or employment conditions. Some unemployed persons may not be capable of filling some vacancies owing to the lack of relevant skills and experience. Also, some job seekers may be unemployed temporarily as they are choosing suitable work or changing jobs.
(b) According to the findings of the General Household Survey in the fourth quarter of 2012, there were 51 200 unemployed persons aged 15-34 (provisional figure). The breakdowns by educational attainment and by marital status are set out at Annex.
(c) As at the end of December 2012, there were about 3 800 unemployed Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients aged 15 to 34. The corresponding figures for 2011 and 2010 were about 4 400 and 5 800 respectively.
(d) The Government adopts a multi-pronged strategy to enhance the employability of young people and promote their employment opportunities through the provision of comprehensive training and employment support.
Focusing on the non-engaged young people aged between 15 and 20 who have yet to acquire recognised qualifications, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) administers the Youth Training Programme which aims at rekindling their desire to learn and pursue further study, as well as cultivating a positive life attitude and self-confidence in them. With a view to assisting the secondary school graduates who have job aspirations but without full-time work experience, ERB administers the "Employment Set Sail for Youth" courses, providing trainees with fundamental vocational training, thereby preparing them to acquire related recognised qualifications and enhancing their competitiveness. Both types of courses include six-month placement follow-up services whereby job-seeking and employment support is rendered to the graduate trainees.
The Vocational Training Council (VTC) has been providing young people who have clearer career aspirations within specific industries with on-the-job and longer-term structured training, including the statutory Apprenticeship Scheme for young people aged 14 or above. VTC also launched in end-2011 the pilot Traineeship Scheme for young people aged 15 or above. Under these Schemes, VTC provides free employment services to young people, including referral to employers for interview should a suitable apprentice/trainee vacancy arise. Trainees participating in these Schemes will be able to receive workplace training provided by their employers, while at the same time enrolling in related vocational education courses provided by VTC.
In order to assist young people to secure employment, the Labour Department (LD) administers the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YPTP&YWETS) to offer "through-train" training and employment support services to young people aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree or below level. To encourage employers to provide more on-the-job training opportunities to young people, the Chief Executive announced in his 2013 Policy Address that the training allowance of YPTP&YWETS will be enhanced. The monthly training allowance payable to an employer, who employs a young person with a monthly salary of $6,000 or above and provides him/her with on-the-job training, will be increased from $2,000 to $3,000. The payment period is from six to 12 months. To encourage participation in the workplace attachment training under YPTP&YWETS, the allowance payable to a young person who completes the one month's workplace attachment training will be increased from $2,000 to $3,000.
Under a special employment project named "Action S5", non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are commissioned by LD to provide on-the-job training to young people with special employment difficulties owing to low educational attainment, emotional/behavioural problems or learning difficulties for a period of 12 months. LD also operates two Youth Employment Resource Centres to provide personalised advisory and support services on employment and self-employment to young people aged 15 to 29.
To help unemployed CSSA youths, the Social Welfare Department commissioned NGOs to assist in implementing the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance (IEAPS) under the CSSA Scheme. By providing employment assistance services, the IEAPS helps unemployed CSSA recipients aged 15 to 59 find jobs and achieve self-reliance. The Special Training and Enhancement Programme (My STEP) under the IEAPS provides employment assistance services to unemployed CSSA youth aged 15 to 29. It includes motivational and disciplinary training, which are designed to enhance the self-image, confidence and sense of responsibility of the participating CSSA youths in order to help them return to work.
Ends/Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 13:23
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