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Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung poses with two students (centre) who job-shadowed him for a day at the Hong Kong Book Fair in July 2018. Photo: Kimmy Chung
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong’s youth and SMEs would both benefit from a government-sponsored internship programme

  • Our education system isn’t giving students the job experience they need while SMEs struggle to find the right staff, especially those with digital skills
  • A talent cultivation programme connecting students to positions and training SMEs to work with them could be the answer
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Youth training and talent development are not purely about education but learning new life skills and matching one’s interests with the opportunities in the real world. Our education system focuses on academic excellence and fails to nurture students with programmes that help them develop trust, build self-esteem and acquire life skills. In contrast, authentic learning programmes are designed to help students to become more inclusive and resilient.
The Hong Kong government does not offer fiscal support for citywide internship programmes. It is up to the industry to find its own way or to NGOs running specific programmes for students with better grades. Some students may have a chance to experience such authentic learning opportunities if their colleges and university departments organise some form of apprenticeship, internship programme or industry attachment programme. Meanwhile, some students count on working part-time at fast-food restaurants while others find random work through random opportunities.

It has always been challenging for Hong Kong’s 340,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find the right staff or part-time help and to transform themselves to face the digital world. It has been equally challenging for students to find the right employer who will give them a chance to learn and earn some income. The current system lacks market efficiency.

The small-scale yet expensive youth exchange and internship programme reported by the Post on August 21 has very little positive impact, with only 149 sponsored internships in 2019. By comparison, in 2019, my own company with a permanent headcount of only 40 people, took in about 10 students. Clearly, the government programme’s funding has not been very efficiently managed.
An education system that prioritises academic excellence over work experience has not adequately served young Hongkongers entering the job market. Photo: Shutterstock

Not all SMEs provide good supervision and mentorship for interns; supervisors may simply treat students as low-cost labour. To overcome this, funds should be allocated to offer SMEs professional guidance and training on how to best mentor student interns.

I have personally mentored many interns, some of whom continued to work for me. Most students discovered their areas of interest and are grateful for the experience at my company. We also benefited from the students’ digital skills.

The second generation of activity theory advocated by the Finnish professor Yrjö Engeström offers a model for evaluating and measuring the outcome of such activities. Government-sponsored internships could easily design and measure programmes based on this theory.

Soft skills can smooth the way to career and life success

Both SMEs and students would appreciate paid internships sponsored by the government. A talent cultivation committee should be formed by real industry experts, from the SMEs and various trade associations, and representatives of the local accredited colleges and universities. This committee should propose the funding of a citywide internship programme for qualified SMEs, with a budget of around HK$8,000-HK$12,000 per qualified postsecondary student. This policy recommendation should be read and approved by the Legislative Council in the forthcoming sessions

This proposal could solve two key pain points – SMEs’ hiring challenges and shortage of good practical digital skills. The proposal would also benefit students through authentic task skill sets, mentorship, care and monetary compensation.

Daniel Chun, council member and chairman, research and blueprint committee, Smart City Consortium

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