Annual Report 2004
Chapter 5
Employment Services
The Programme of Employment Services |
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| 5.1 |
Unemployment remains the foremost concern of the Labour Department in 2004. To complement the job creation efforts of the Government, we give every assistance to local job-seekers, particularly the more vulnerable groups. The objective of the Employment Services Programme is to provide a comprehensive range of free and efficient employment assistance and counselling services to help job-seekers find suitable jobs and employers fill their vacancies. We achieve this by:
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| 5.2 | The two principal legislation administered by this programme area are the Employment Agency Regulations made under the Employment Ordinance and the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance. | ||
| 5.3 |
The Employment Agency Regulations, together with the Part XII of the Employment Ordinance, regulate the operation of employment agencies in Hong Kong through a licensing system, inspection, investigation and prosecution. |
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| 5.4 |
The Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance safeguards the interests of local manual workers and those non-manual employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000 who are recruited by employers outside Hong Kong to work in other territories through the attestation of employment contracts for these jobs. |
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Our Work and Achievements in 2004Employment Situation in Hong Kong |
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| 5.5 |
The labour market remained generally buoyant in 2004.
The department received an all-time high of 297
186 vacancies from the private sector, a hefty
increase of 38 per cent when compared with 215
430 in 2003. For data on labour force, unemployment
rate and underemployment rate, please visit the following
webpage: http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/hkstat/fas/labour/ghs/labour1_index.html.
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Key Indicators of Work |
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| 5.6 |
In face of persistently high unemployment, the department
vigorously stepped up its employment services for job-seekers.
A record-high figure of 86 257 placements
was achieved for 2004, up 31 per cent over the level
of 66 100 in 2003. (Figures
5.1 and 5.2)
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A Wider Service ChoiceServices offered at Job Centres |
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| 5.7 |
Job-seekers can select suitable vacancies and seek referral service at all job centres. Modern facilities such as digital display system, self-service touch-screen vacancy search terminals, fax machines, toll-free telephones, computers connected to the Internet and a careers information corner are available. |
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| 5.8 | Through the Job Matching Programme, placement officers help job-seekers evaluate their academic qualifications, job skills, work experience and job preferences, and encourage them to look for suitable jobs actively. Placement officers also introduce suitable retraining courses to job-seekers where appropriate. | ||
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Telephone Employment Service |
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| 5.9 | Registered job-seekers may call our Telephone Employment Service Centre at 2969 0888 for job referral service. Through conference calls, staff of the Centre can make arrangement for job-seekers to talk to employers directly. | ||
Internet Employment Service |
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| 5.10 |
Our Interactive Employment Service (iES) website (http://www.jobs.gov.hk) provides round-the-clock Internet employment service and comprehensive employment information. The iES is one of the most popular government websites in Hong Kong, accounting for about one-third of the page views for all government websites. In 2004, the iES achieved a record number of 684 million page views, an increase of 10 per cent over 2003. It hyperlinks with leading employment websites in Hong Kong and hosts a number of dedicated webpages for specific clientele groups. |
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Central Processing of Job Vacancies |
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| 5.11 | Employers who need to recruit staff can send their vacancy information to our Job Vacancy Processing Centre by fax (2566 3331) or telephone (2503 3377) or through the Internet (http://www.jobs.gov.hk). Vacancy information will be posted at all job centres and uploaded onto the iES through computer network in one working day. | ||
Special Recruitment Functions and Promotional Activities |
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| 5.12 | We organise a variety of activities to promote our employment services. Visits and briefings are conducted to appeal for vacancies from employers. Recruitment seminars and job fairs are held to facilitate job-seekers and employers to meet and communicate directly. In 2004, these special recruitment and promotional activities included territory-wide large-scale job fairs as well as thematic functions such as "Recruitment Forum for Property Management" and "Recruitment Forum for Retail Industry". These activities reached out to over 95 000 job-seekers and employers. To respond more promptly to the recruitment needs of employers and provide a more user-friendly service to job-seekers, we also held job fairs at our major job centres to assist employers to recruit staff and to enable job-seekers to participate in job interviews on the spot. | ||
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Intensified Services for the Most NeedyMiddle-aged Job-seekers |
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| 5.13 | The Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged was launched in May 2003 to provide intensive employment service to job-seekers aged 40 or above who had been unemployed for three months. Employers who engage a participant of the programme in full-time permanent posts and offer him on-the-job training will receive a training allowance of $1,500 per month, for up to three months. As at the end of 2004, 8 606 placements were achieved through the programme. | ||
Local Domestic Helpers (LDHs) |
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| 5.14 |
To address the mismatch in supply and demand in the
LDH market and to promote LDH service, the Special Incentive
Allowance Scheme was launched in June 2003. A sum of
$60 million was earmarked to provide incentive allowance
to qualified LDHs who are willing to work across districts
or during unsocial hours (i.e. 5 pm to 9 am). It is
estimated that some 8 000 LDHs will benefit
from the scheme. Successful applicants will receive
an allowance of $50 per day, with an overall cap of
$7,200. As at end-2004, there were some 3 700
approved applications. In 2004, we continued to publicise
our dedicated employment services for LDHs through the
website of the iES, roving exhibitions, job fairs and
many other promotional efforts.
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New Arrivals |
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| 5.15 |
We provide through our job centres a comprehensive range of employment services to new arrivals. These include employment counselling, job referral, employment briefing and employment information. |
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Workers affected by Large-scale Retrenchment |
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| 5.16 |
In the event of major retrenchment, we will assign
special counters at the job centres or will render on-the-spot
employment services to workers affected. In 2004, the
service reached out to 1 038 retrenched
workers of 12 companies.
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University Graduates of 2003 |
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| 5.17 |
The Graduate Employment Training Scheme was launched
on 1 August 2003 in conjunction with seven local universities
to place fresh graduates into training posts under the
scheme. Employers providing on-the-job training for
these graduates received a training subsidy of $2,000
for six months. The scheme was completed in June 2004
and more than 1 300 graduates had been
placed under the scheme.
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Job-seekers with a Disability |
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| 5.18 |
The Selective Placement Division (SPD) offers employment
assistance to disabled job-seekers seeking open employment.
Placement officers will provide personalised counselling,
employment services and where appropriate, make referrals
to tailor-made retraining programmes. In 2004, SPD registered
4 002 disabled job-seekers and helped place
2 391 of them into employment. The placement
rate was 60 per cent. (Figure
5.3)
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Trial Placement-cum-Mentor Scheme |
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| 5.19 | The Trial Placement-cum-Mentor Scheme for People with a Disability was launched in January 2002. It aims at motivating employers to recognise the working abilities of people with a disability through a one-month trial placement, thereby enhancing the employment opportunities of people with a disability. Participating employers will receive a subsidy equal to half of the wages paid in the one-month trial period, subject to a ceiling of $3,000. A mentorship element has been included in the scheme to help the disabled workers on trial to settle in the jobs more easily. The response from employers has been encouraging. By the end of 2004, there were 411 employers offering 837 job vacancies. About 84 per cent of the 754 disabled persons participating in the scheme were offered full-time employment by their employers after the trial period. | ||
Self Help Integrated Placement Service |
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| 5.20 |
The Self Help Integrated Placement Service (SHIPS) aims at improving the job-searching skills of disabled job-seekers and encouraging them to be more proactive in the search for jobs, thereby enhancing their employment opportunities. In 2004, 641 disabled job-seekers participated in the programme. The overall placement rate was about 71 per cent. |
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Interactive Selective Placement Service (iSPS) Website |
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| 5.21 |
The Selective Placement Division (SPD) launched an
Interactive Selective Placement Service (iSPS) Website
(http://www.jobs.gov.hk/isps)
in January 2003 to provide enhanced employment services
for disabled job-seekers and employers through the Internet.
The website enables disabled persons to register or
renew their registrations with SPD, browse job vacancy
information and perform preliminary job-matching. It
also enables employers to place vacancy orders with
SPD, identify suitable disabled job-seekers to fill
their vacancies and request SPD to refer candidates
to them for selection interview. Response to the iSPS
has been very favourable. In 2004, it recorded a total
of 2 952 955 page views and 9 437
online requests for SPD's services.
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Promotional Activities |
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| 5.22 | During the year, SPD organised the Outstanding Disabled Employees Award and Enlightened Employers Award Presentation Ceremony 2004 and produced a series of radio programmes to enhance public understanding of the working abilities of people with disabilities. We also held seminars for employers and conducted special promotional campaigns on targeted trades to canvass job vacancies. | ||
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Services for Young PeopleYouth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YWETS) |
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| 5.23 | The YWETS features 50 hours of guidance and counselling services to trainees by case managers who are registered social workers; 40 hours of induction training on communication and interpersonal skills for trainees; a training subsidy payable to employers at the rate of $2,000 per trainee per month during the period of on-the-job training; and a training allowance of $4,000 payable to trainees who undertake vocational training courses on an off-the-job basis. | ||
| 5.24 |
The 2004-05 programme year of YWETS focuses on the
development of special tailor-made projects for industries
and individual establishments. Since August 2004, a
wide range of tailor-made special employment projects
providing some 1 000 training vacancies
have been launched to enhance trainees' vocational skills
and to cater for sustainable career development. These
projects enable trainees to gain work experience in
various industries like aviation, tourism, information
technology, education and social services, film and
entertainment. With support from non-government organisations
participating in the YWETS, the "Action S4"
project which caters specifically for the needs of the
more vulnerable trainees has also been re-launched with
new features added.
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| 5.25 | The YWETS aimed to provide 10 000 training places for young people by July 2004. This was achieved in November 2003, eight months ahead of schedule. Given this success, the Administration has extended YWETS for another two years to place an additional 10 000 youths into jobs. As at the end of 2004, 18 283 trainees were successfully placed in training vacancies under the scheme. In addition, 10 925 trainees were placed in other jobs in the open employment market with the advice and assistance of their case managers. | ||
| 5.26 |
Feedback from trainees, employers and case managers on the YWETS is highly favourable. Independent consultants from the Centre for Social Policy Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University also confirmed the effectiveness of the scheme in enhancing the employability of young people in a mid-term review conducted in 2003. |
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Youth Pre-employment Training Programme (YPTP) |
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| 5.27 |
In 2004, we continued with the YPTP and provided a wide range of employment-related training and workplace attachment opportunities. Government departments, training bodies and voluntary agencies join hands to provide the following four modular training: (a) leadership, discipline and team building; (b) job-search and interpersonal skills; (c) elementary/ intermediate computer application; and (d) job-specific skills training. Organisations from the private and public sectors as well as social welfare agencies offer workplace attachment places for trainees so they can obtain practical work experience and better understand the real work environment. Professional youth workers are available to provide career counselling and support services throughout the programme. In the new phase of the programme, a number of training courses geared to market needs have been added. Workplace English or Putonghua has been included in the training to enhance trainees' language ability. |
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Youth Self-employment Support Scheme (YSSS) |
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| 5.28 | A total of 36 projects providing about 1 500 training places are implemented under the YSSS. Young people joining the YSSS are provided with training and a full range of support services for one full year by the commissioned non-government organisations. The objective of the YSSS is to promote self-employment, and the trainees are not required to fund their own business during the training and service period. | ||
| 5.29 |
At the close of the application period on 31 October
2004, about 5 200 applications were received
with some 1 500 applicants accepted for
participating in the YSSS. To promote the YSSS and help
trainees canvass business opportunities, a Flea Market
was staged on 20 November 2004. As at the end of 2004,
the trainees have conducted 1 420 business
transactions with gross profits of about $940,000 recorded.
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Careers Information and Guidance |
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| 5.30 | Our Careers Advisory Service promotes careers education and helps young people choose a career best suited to their talents, interest and abilities. We provide up-to-date information on employment and training opportunities as well as careers counselling and guidance service through our careers information centre. In addition, people can visit our website (http://www.labour.gov.hk/careers) to have quick access to a wide range of careers information. | ||
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| 5.31 | To enhance careers awareness among young people and provide them with first-hand careers information, we organise a variety of careers activities throughout the year. In February 2004, we jointly organised the Education and Careers Expo with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for the 14th time to provide the latest information on careers development and further education opportunities. There were 375 participating exhibitors from a wide range of trades, government departments and professional bodies, as well as local and overseas educational and training institutes. The event attracted 186 381 visitors and proved to be the most popular careers information event in Hong Kong. | ||
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| 5.32 | We organised a special service package for Form 5 school leavers in July and August to provide them with a full range of counselling and information on careers and further education opportunities. Hotline and chat room service were set up for students and their parents. An Information Expo held in collaboration with the Education and Manpower Bureau attracted over 14 000 visitors. More than 90 000 copies of the tailor-made careers handbook were distributed. | ||
| 5.33 |
A total of 41 719 participants took part
in an Online Careers Quiz organised by the department
for secondary students in November and December.
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| 5.34 |
Two part-time certificate courses were organised for in-service careers masters in the 2004/2005 school year in collaboration with the Education and Manpower Bureau. |
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Regulating Local Employment Agencies and Employment Outside Hong Kong |
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| 5.35 |
We monitor the operation of employment agencies through
licensing, inspection and investigation of complaints.
In 2004, 1 501 employment agency licences
were issued. Eight licences were revoked and two applications
for issue of licence refused. A total of 1 376
enforcement inspections were made to employment agencies.
At the end of 2004, there were 1 435 licensed
employment agencies in Hong Kong.
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| 5.36 |
We regulate employment outside the territory to safeguard the interests of local employees engaged by employers outside Hong Kong to work in other territories by attesting all employment contracts entered in Hong Kong involving manual employees and non-manual employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000. |
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Regulating Labour ImportationSupplementary Labour Scheme |
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| 5.37 |
To cater for the genuine needs of employers, the department administers the Supplementary Labour Scheme that allows the entry of imported workers to take up jobs at technician level or below and which cannot be filled locally. The scheme operates on the principles of ensuring the priority of local workers in employment while allowing employers with proven local recruitment difficulties to import labour to fill the necessary job vacancies. As at the end of 2004, 891 workers were imported under the scheme in Hong Kong. |
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| 5.38 |
We provide active job matching and referral services to local job-seekers to ensure their employment priority. Vacancies under the scheme are widely publicised locally. To facilitate local workers in filling the vacancies, they could attend tailor-made retraining courses, if appropriate. Applications from employers who have set restrictive or unreasonable requirements in terms of age, education, sex, skill or experience for the vacancies or who have no genuine intention to employ local workers will be rejected. |
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Policy on Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs) |
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| 5.39 |
FDHs have been admitted to work in Hong Kong since 1970's. FDHs (and other migrant workers) enjoy the same statutory rights and benefits as local employees. The Government attaches great importance to protecting the welfare of FDHs, and has taken every step to safeguard their statutory and contractual rights. The rights and benefits of FDHs are widely publicised. Claims of breach of statutory rights will be promptly investigated and prosecution action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence. |
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| 5.40 |
As at the end of 2004, there were 218 430
FDHs in Hong Kong, an increase of 0.7 per cent compared
with 216 863 in 2003. About 54.8 per cent
of the FDHs in Hong Kong were from the Philippines and
41.2 per cent from Indonesia.
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