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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (April 21):
Question:
The Administration submitted the "Progress Report on the Government's Efforts in Strengthening Support for Tin Shui Wai" to the Panel on Welfare Services of this Council in January 2008, with a view to following up the suggestions raised by Members of this Council on the motion "strengthening support for Tin Shui Wai" passed on November 7, 2007. Regarding the progress of various measures taken to improve the employment situation in Tin Shui Wai (TSW), will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether measures are currently in place to consolidate and enhance tourist attractions in TSW and the neighbouring areas, and whether it has any plan to provide additional tourist attractions within the district, so as to increase employment opportunities within the district; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) of the authorities' new measures to encourage the business sector to set up businesses in TSW, and whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if an assessment has been conducted, of the outcome; apart from the Telebet Centre cum Volunteer and Training Centre set up by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Tin Heng Estate in TSW, whether it knows the total number of institutions which have set up offices and set up businesses in TSW since January 2008, as well as the respective numbers of full-time and part-time jobs created;
(c) since the Training Centre under the Construction Industry Council Training Academy in TSW and the Youth College under the Vocational Training Council in TSW came into operation in 2009 respectively, whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the training courses offered; if an assessment has been conducted, of the outcome; whether it knows the age and sex distribution of the trainees enrolled in such courses, and among them, the number of those who had secured appointment within three months after completing the training courses; as well as the age groups of persons of the district who have not yet been offered training opportunities;
(d) of the total number of residents of the district who were offered jobs through job fairs organised by the Labour Department and other organisations last year, together with a breakdown by industry sector, work location and income distribution; whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of such job fairs; if they have, of the details;
(e) when the authorities will complete the review on the Transport Support Scheme; how they will continue to provide travel subsidies for persons living in remote areas, so as to enhance their incentive to work;
(f) given that the authorities indicated in the aforesaid progress report that it would continue to identify large commercial corporations to partner with non-governmental organisations in launching social enterprise projects that suit the local needs of TSW, so as to increase employment opportunities, whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such projects since 2008; if they have, of the outcome; and
(g) given that the authorities indicated in the aforesaid progress report that the Development Bureau and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau were jointly exploring the initiative to move government facilities to TSW, of the latest progress of the initiative, as well as details of the sites chosen and the implementation timetable?
Reply:
President,
(a) Tourists' choice of a travel destination is generally determined by the overall destination offerings of the place. The Government has strived to develop a diversified range of tourism products with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's overall attractiveness and maintaining its position as a preferred travel destination in Asia.
The Hong Kong Wetland Park (HKWP) in TSW comprises 60 hectares of re-created wetland, a 10,000-square metre visitor centre, exhibition galleries, a theatre and other facilities. It is a world-class facility for green and family tourism. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has been working closely with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to promote the HKWP through HKTB's website and publications like "Discover Hong Kong Nature", "Hong Kong Visitor's Kit", "Hong Kong Family Fun Guide", etc. From 2006 to 2009, in light of the development of the Mass Transit Railway West Rail Line, the HKTB published the guidebook "Discover Hong Kong by Rail" featuring attractions in the TSW vicinity, including Ping Shan Heritage Trail, the local living culture and delicacies of Yuen Long District, etc. This year, the guidebook will be combined with another travel guide "Hong Kong Walks" to highlight various walking routes in urban areas and the New Territories. It aims to facilitate visitors to explore different districts, including TSW and the neighbouring areas.
The above strategy to promote TSW together with the neighbouring attractions to create the clustering effect has achieved some initial results. Many tour groups with itineraries covering the HKWP and nearby scenic spots are now available in the market, which would help boost the local community economy and employment.
The Yuen Long District Council has since April 2008 established the Working Group on the Promotion of Tourism and the Development of Local Community Economy. The Working Group aims at promoting the development of local community economy and introducing tourist spots and attractions in Yuen Long (including TSW). The Working Group has organised promotional activities entitled "Yuen Long - Suburb Delights" and "Eyes on Yuen Long" photo-taking competition, etc. to introduce various tourist hotspots in Yuen Long, including the HKWP, Lau Fau Shan and Ping Shan Heritage Trail which are in the vicinity of TSW. The Working Group will continue to consider how to promote local community tourism in Yuen Long at the District Council level.
In respect of long-term development, the Planning Department is conducting its Stage Two public consultation of the Study on the Enhancement of the Lau Fau Shan Rural Township and Surrounding Areas. The purpose of the study is to realise the tourism and recreational potential of Lau Fau Shan and its surrounding areas by proposing improvement projects which are compatible with the existing natural and cultural environment. The suggested planning proposals include developing a Waterfront Piazza, adaptive re-using of the former Lau Fau Shan Police station, and improving existing vantage points, etc. The proposals, if implemented, will further enhance the tourist spots in the vicinity of TSW.
(b) The Home Affairs Department introduced in June 2006 the Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme (ESR Programme) to provide seed money for eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and district organisations to set up social enterprises. The ESR Programme aims at encouraging self-reliance of the disadvantaged through promoting social enterprises. Information relating to the job creation of the ESR Programme in TSW is set out in part (f) below.
In addition, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)/Housing Department have also adopted a series of measures to promote employment in TSW, which include –
(i) converting the carpark building in Tin Heng Estate for the Hong Kong Jockey Club to set up a TSW Telebet cum Volunteers and Training Centre, thereby creating 2,500 employment opportunities and providing volunteer and training services to the residents;
(ii) engaging local residents to take up about 85% of the cleansing worker and security guard positions employed by the service providers of public housing estates in TSW; and
(iii) building a six-storey Amenity and Community Building on the site originally planned for an open carpark at Tin Ching Estate. The construction of the building complex would bring about 200 job opportunities to the construction industry. Upon its completion, the Building would accommodate about 20 NGOs to provide various social, health and community services as well as employment opportunities to residents of TSW and Yuen Long.
In parallel, the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) will develop an Integrated Elderly Community Project (IECP) at TSW Area 115. As estimated by HKHS, the project will create about 300 jobs during the construction phase and not fewer than 1,200 jobs during its operation. Apart from the provision of jobs, the project will attract tourists to TSW, injecting commercial activities into the area and bringing a positive impact on the social and economic development of the locality. HKHS is also planning to develop short-term land use projects in TSW Area 112B and 115 (Phase II) sites. The facilities will include an elderly resources centre and wellness centre, a training centre operated by the Vocational Training Council, some ancillary commercial facilities and some show flats of elderly housing. According to HKHS, these short-term facilities are expected to create about 250 jobs.
(c) Since its operation commenced at the end of September 2009, the Construction Industry Council's (CIC's) TSW Training Centre has offered full-time adult short training courses in five trades. These courses provide systematic skills training to people who intend to join the construction industry. The training courses in the five trades include "bricklaying, plastering and tiling", "metal scaffolding", "painting", "plumbing and pipe fitting in building construction" and "bar bending and fixing". By early April 2010, 71 students out of the 146 intakes have graduated. CIC has successfully assisted 42 of the 71 graduates to secure employment within three months after graduation (Some of the graduates did not require CIC's placement services). The 146 intakes comprise people of different age groups as listed in the table below, of which four are female trainees –
Age No. of Intake Percentage
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18 to 20 20 13%
21 to 30 33 23%
31 to 40 33 23%
41 to 50 38 26%
51 to 60 22 15%
Total 146 100%
The TSW Training Centre also provides basic safety training course (construction industry safety card course). As at early April 2010, 186 students have graduated from the course.
The Youth College and the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (YC & Training Centre) under the Vocational Training Council was set up in TSW in September 2009 to provide professional education and training courses to students of different ages and backgrounds to prepare them for further studies or employment. These courses include Diploma of Vocational Education courses (Information Technology and Business stream) for Secondary 3 and Secondary 5 school leavers, full-time short Hotel Industry Certificate courses for Secondary 3 and Secondary 5 school leavers, courses under the Vocational Development Programme for youths awaiting employment or studies and training courses for the unemployed or employed persons.
As at end-March 2010, the total number of students of the YC & Training Centre is over 700, with the male to female ratio at 51% to 49%. The ages of students range from 14 to around 50 and those who are at 20 or below account for about 85% of the total number of students. Among the 270 graduates (the majority of whom were students of the Vocational Development Programme and Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre), about 75% (around 200) have already secured employment or further studies. The ratio of employment and study is around 60% to 40%. The remaining 50 fresh graduates are seeking suitable opportunities for employment or study.
(d) From 2008 up to the end of March 2010, the Labour Department (LD) organised seven large-scale job fairs in TSW, with 102 participating companies offering 9,799 vacancies, attracting a total of 14,650 visitors. Besides, LD also organises district-based recruitment activities in the Yuen Long Job Centre regularly. During this period, 31 mini-job fairs, with 81 companies taking part and 3,471 vacancies provided, were held at the Job Centre concerned. A total of 2,789 job-seekers attended on-the-spot job interviews at these mini-job fairs.
As employers normally adopt various means and channels concurrently for recruiting staff, and some employers indicated that their recruitment processes were in practice performed by supervisors of different branches or workplaces, there are practical difficulties in capturing the exact number of job-seekers placed through LD's job fairs and their breakdown. In addition, since there are quite a number of organisations staging job fairs in TSW, and they are not required to report the particulars of the events to the Government, we do not have the overall figures of TSW residents who have found jobs through job fairs held by other organisations.
The main objectives of LD's organising job fairs are to facilitate the flow of vacancy information, and to provide an effective and convenient platform for employers to recruit staff and for job-seekers to find jobs. Through job fairs, job-seekers can apply for different posts offered by a multitude of companies in one go, hence saving the time and travelling expenses that would otherwise be incurred in job searches in different districts. With the large number of applicants, recruiting employers can also optimise their resources in conducting the recruitment exercises. The support of employers and job-seekers as revealed by the participation figures of LD's job fairs demonstrates that such activities have been effective.
(e) The Administration is conducting a comprehensive review of the Transport Support Scheme (TSS). As the unemployment rate has shown a downward trend since the second half of 2009 and the latest quarterly (January to March 2010) unemployment rate has dropped to 4.4%, we are collecting updated performance statistics and employment information of TSS participants to thoroughly assess the effectiveness of TSS in encouraging employment of people living in the four designated remote districts (i.e. North District, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Islands).
Noting that there is a substantial body of opinion that transport expenses constitute a burden on the low-income employees, the Administration is conducting a study on ways to reduce the burden of travelling expenses borne by them. We are collating and examining information of all relevant aspects, such as income statistics of low-income employees throughout the territory, their means of transportation as well as transport expenses. We expect to complete the study by the end of 2010 and come up with concrete measures.
Before the completion of the study, the existing TSS will remain in force to subsidise transport expenses incurred by eligible residents in the four remote districts.
(f) The Administration has promoted the development of social enterprises through collaboration with the business sector, NGOs and community organisations. The ESR Programme has approved some $1 million for a social enterprise project that operates eco-tourism business in TSW and about 40 job opportunities have been created.
(g) The Administration has completed a study on relocating government departments in the three government office buildings at the Wan Chai waterfront, and will relocate the 27 affected departments to other districts as and when appropriate. The exact location for re-accommodating these government offices would have to be worked out with the departments concerned, having regard to their operational requirements. We will also study the feasibility of making use of old industrial buildings in drawing up the relocation plan. In view of the large number of departments involved, the relocation exercise would need to be phased over a number of years.
Ends/Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:20
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