Jobless youngsters rue failings at school
Many youngsters are having a difficult time finding jobs because of their low educational levels, a survey found.
Of 274 Form 5 former pupils or graduates aged 18 to 25, 70 per cent of respondents finding it hard to get jobs blamed their low educational levels for preventing them from embarking on their ideal careers. More than 60 per cent were unable to undertake continuing education because of varying working hours and tuition fees they could not afford.
'I think the government should use the newly established Community Care Fund to help needy teenagers,' said Phoebe Chu Lai-ying, survey convenor for the Hong Kong Christian Service. She was appealing for the HK$10 billion fund to be used in co-operation with business sectors to create more posts and accommodate more flexible working hours.
The appeal comes two months after Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen proposed the establishment of the Community Care Fund in an effort to help the underprivileged, with the government and business providing HK$5 billion each.
The government should also review the Project Springboard continuing education programme to provide more flexible classes, Chu said, for example extending school hours to midnight so that students with jobs could adjust their work and study accordingly.
Continuing education does not always impress potential employers. Chui Lok-kwun, now aged 25, failed the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination as a schoolboy, scoring zero points. He has finished government-sponsored courses but was embarrassed at being turned down for a temporary government post, though the published requirements suggested he was qualified.
'I hope that besides the HKCEE, there will be wider recognition of projects such as Springboard and the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme by employers,' he said.
The poll also found that a quarter of the youngsters interviewed who are in continuing education had to allocate at least half of their monthly incomes to pay for course fees. About 50 per cent earned less than HK$6,000 a month.
'I'm now out of a job and my parents are going to retire,' said a 23-year-old, who left full-time education before completing senior high school. ' I want to improve, but how can I afford the tuition fees for further study?' She had worked as a waitress for HK$18 an hour.
