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The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is inviting interested bona fide non-profit making organisations to apply for a term of two-year funding support to the Fourth Batch of Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAPs) and the District Employment Assistance Trial (DEAT) Projects from October, 2006 to September, 2008.
The Financial Secretary announced in his 2006-07 Budget Speech that the Government would allocate $60 million to continue the operation of the IEAPs to help unemployed Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients and other disadvantaged groups to rejoin the workforce.
With these funds, operating agencies will provide project participants with individualised employment assistance services to enhance their employability as well as their ability to sustain employment; and temporary financial aid to tide them over short-term financial hardship and to meet employment-related expenses so that they can leave or do not fall into the CSSA net.
Since October, 2003, the department has commissioned non-governmental organisations to launch IEAPs. So far, more than 31,000 participants had joined the projects and more than 40% of them had been assisted to secure full-time employment. Together with the implementation of the support for self-reliance measures, there has been a steady decline in the number of unemployed CSSA recipients, from 51,372 in September, 2003, to 41,188 in May, 2006, a decrease of 20%.
The Social Welfare Departmentlooks forward to co-operating with various sectors of the community to promote self-reliance and strengthen the welfare-to-work programme.
In view of the increasing trend of the long-term unemployed CSSA recipients and to prevent their over- reliance on CSSA, three DEAT Projects will run in Tin Shui Wai, Tsuen Kwai and Tung Chung respectively.
The trial projects aim to provide more targeted assistance to the needy participants. Special features include job attachment to provide an opportunity for participants to gain work experience and relevant job skills, work-focused specific training, as well as a one-off incentive of $1,500 to enable participants who have secured a full-time job to meet work-related expenses in the first month of employment before they receive their first pay.
Details of application for the two employment assistance programmes and application forms can be downloaded from the "Thematic Events" and "What's New" in the SWD homepage at http://www.swd.gov.hk.
For enquiries, please call 2231 5872 or 2231 5866. The submission of application will close at 5.30pm on July 24, 2006.
Ends/Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:55
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