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Following is a question by the Hon Abraham Shek and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (May 12):
Question:
The Labour Department (LD) organises large-scale job fairs from time to time to provide employment opportunities for the public. On the other hand, some employers have relayed to me that only a small number of job seekers they recruited through these job fairs eventually reported for duty as scheduled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the trades involved in the large-scale job fairs organised by the Government last year, and the number of job seekers who secured employment through these job fairs;
(b) given that some employers have reflected that the turnover rate of employees recruited through such job fairs is particularly high, whether it has analysed the reasons for it; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it will consider organising tailor-made job fairs focusing on particular trades instead of holding large-scale job fairs, or mainly focusing on enhancing the various employment programmes currently implemented by LD; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Employers normally use more than one means or channel to recruit staff. Job fairs organised by the Labour Department (LD) is just one of the recruitment channels available to employers. In addition, some employers have advised LD that their recruitment is performed by supervisors of different branches or workplaces. They have practical difficulties capturing the exact number of job-seekers placed through any one particular recruitment channel or means. Therefore, LD does not have the exact figures of the number of job-seekers who secured jobs through these fairs. Notwithstanding this, we believe that participation in LD's job fairs should be an objective indicator of the support of employers and job-seekers. During the past 12 months, i.e. from May 2009 to April 2010, LD organised a total of 23 large-scale job fairs in various districts, which was more than double the figure of 11 during the same period in the preceding year. These job fairs provided nearly 29,000 vacancies. Participating companies came mainly from the retail, catering and property management sectors. These events attracted over 35,000 job-seekers.
(b) For reasons similar to those outlined in (a) above, LD does not have the turnover rate of job-seekers placed through LD's job fairs. Generally speaking, in deciding whether to stay in a job, an employee would consider a multitude of factors, such as the job nature, working conditions, remuneration and benefits, as well as the place of work. It is unlikely that the channel of recruitment would become a major factor affecting an employee's decision whether to leave his/her employment.
(c) Holding large-scale job fairs can facilitate the flow of vacancy information, provide an effective and convenient platform for employers to recruit staff, and enable job-seekers to find jobs. Job fairs are particularly suitable when we have vacancies straddling many sectors, or they can be filled by general job-seekers, or the vacancies are offered by establishments with branches territory-wide.
Organising large-scale job fairs and providing other employment services are complementary. In fact, in addition to large-scale job fairs, we also hold mini-job fairs in different job centres with a focus on district-based vacancies. 250 such job fairs were held in the past 12 months. We will also organise industry-specific recruitment activities should there be a large number of vacancies available. For example, in September 2009, LD organised two large-scale job fairs, one specifically for the property management industry and the other for the retail industry.
Furthermore, LD set up a Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry (RCCI) in February 2009 to provide tailor-made job-matching service and on-the-spot interview arrangements for catering establishments and job-seekers. In view of the effectiveness of RCCI, LD will set up a Recruitment Centre for the Retail Industry in mid-2010 to provide specialised employment support to employers and job-seekers of the retail industry.
In addition to job fairs, LD also operates, and will continue to enhance as necessary, a number of special employment programmes to cater for the needs of general job-seekers and those with specific needs, such as the middle-aged, the disabled and the youth, to help them secure employment. In 2009, LD enhanced and integrated its various employment programmes, raised the levels of subsidy and extended the subsidy period for employers hiring the middle-aged and persons with disabilities so as to increase their incentive. To proactively assist young people in navigating their career journey, LD strengthened and integrated the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme into a "through-train" programme to provide seamless and comprehensive youth training and employment support with effect from the 2009/10 Programme Year.
Furthermore, as announced by the Financial Secretary in his 2010-11 Budget Speech on February 24, 2010, LD will introduce additional measures to enhance employment support to job-seekers. These measures include:
(i) launching a two-year Pilot Employment Navigator Programme to provide job-seekers with intensive employment counselling and cash incentives so as to address the problem of manpower mismatch, fully utilise our labour productivity and encourage employment; and
(ii) implementing a special employment project to help those vulnerable youths with special employment difficulties.
Ends/Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:46
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