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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (May 10):
Question:
It is learnt that the British Government attaches great importance to women's rights and interests and is determined to eradicate women's poverty, as demonstrated by its adoption of the recommendations made by the Women and Work Commission, which included the recruitment of low-skilled women to work in trades and industries with skill shortages and the provision of the relevant skill training for them, with some 10 000 women expected to benefit as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the current number of low-skilled women in the local labour force, with a breakdown by their age, district of residence and family income;
(b) of the trades and industries currently experiencing skill shortages, the skills required for the relevant job vacancies, and the training needed for new recruits; whether it will consider following the above practices in Britain; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(c) whether the Women's Commission has conducted studies on improving the employment situation for low-skilled women and made recommendations in this regard; if it has not, how the Administration will look into this subject in conjunction with the Commission, so that the Commission can fulfil its role as a central mechanism to promote women's rights and interests?
Reply
Madam President,
(a) According to the General Household Survey of the labour force conducted by the Census and Statistics Department during May-August 2005, some 224 000 women (representing 16% of the female labour force) were engaged in elementary occupations.
Of these, 43% were aged 40-49, 37% were aged 50-59, and 12% were aged 30-39.
In respect of districts of residence, they mainly lived in Kwun Tong (representing 10% of the total), Kwai Tsing (10%), Yuen Long (8%), Tuen Mun (8%), Sha Tin (8%), Wong Tai Sin (7%) and Eastern (7%).
As regards household income, about 47% were from households with monthly income of $10,000 to less than $20,000; 25% were from households with monthly income of less than $10,000; while another 19% were from households with monthly income of $20,000 to less than $30,000.
(b) According to the Quarterly Survey of Employment and Vacancies conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in December 2005, the retail, import and export trade, restaurants and business services sectors had the largest number of vacancies, recording a total of some 18 000 vacancies. The skills required for these vacancies vary depending on the business nature and circumstances of individual employers. In general, technicians are required to possess the relevant skills, knowledge or recognised qualifications. For example, electricians and plumbers are required to obtain the relevant certificate. Employees in the service industry need to have good skills in customer service, language and communication.
On training and employment, the Government has launched various measures to enhance the competitiveness and employability of employees with low skills or education attainments. The Education and Manpower Bureau launched the $400 million Skills Upgrading Scheme in September 2001 to provide targeted skills upgrading training to in-service workers of various industries. The Scheme now covers 23 industries and has benefited about 150 000 in-service workers since its inception. About half of the trainees benefited were female and female trainee participation rates were over 70% in industries such as clothing and textile, import/export, retail, beauty care and elderly care.
To better prepare our workforce for our knowledge-based economy, the Government launched the Continuing Education Fund with a provision of $5 billion in June 2002 to provide financial subsidies to eligible applicants aged 18-60 to pursue continuing education. Of the 273 000 applications received so far, 58% were from women.
To assist unemployed workers who would like to take on new or enhanced skills so that they can adapt to changes in the economic environment, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) offers them a variety of full-time and part-time retraining courses. During 2005/06, the ERB provided a total of 140 courses and over 106 000 training places. Since the launch of ERB courses in 1992, about 76% of the retrainees are women.
(c) The Women's Commission (WoC) has not conducted any specific studies on the subject of improving the employment situation for low-skilled women. However, as the central mechanism on women issues, WoC has been playing a strategic role in enabling women to fully realise their due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life. It promotes the adoption of gender mainstreaming by the Government to take the perspectives and needs of both genders into account when formulating policies and programmes, so as to remove the systemic barriers and to create an enabling environment for the development of women. It also strives to empower women and, through public education, change the mindset of the public to remove the gender bias and stereotypes that affect women﷿s development. WoC will, from the overall and strategic level, review government policies and measures that have an impact on women, and will make suggestions for improvements and follow up with bureaux and departments concerned.
Ends/Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:00
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