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The establishment of the Labour Department's Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry underlines the Government's efforts to preserve jobs in the industry by providing specific job-matching services to help both the employers and the unemployed, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (February 5).
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the recruitment centre, Mr Cheung said that while job preservation topped the Government¡¦s agenda, the continuous supply of jobs depended to a large extent on the sustainable development of the private sector. "In this regard, 'supporting the enterprises' is indeed the basis for job preservation," he noted.
Mr Cheung pointed out that the latest unemployment rate was 4.1% and the Labour Department posted more than 20,000 vacancies from the catering industry in the fourth quarter of 2008, an increase of 5.7% over the same period in 2007. Currently more than 5,400 vacancies from the catering industry are still posted at the Labour Department.
He said, "In view of the possible hike in the demand for jobs after the Chinese New Year as well as the expansion plans of some enterprises in the catering industry, the Labour Department has set up the recruitment centre to strengthen its role in job-matching for both employers and job-seekers.
"It is hoped that through the central processing of job vacancies and on-the-spot interviews, we can speed up the employment process so that the financial pressure on unemployed workers can be relieved as early as possible."
Also attending the opening ceremony, Commissioner for Labour Mrs Cherry Tse said the recruitment centre provided information on vacancies received by the Labour Department for the catering industry. She said job seekers were welcome to visit the centre and use the facilities for free.
The Labour Department's other 12 job centres will all enhance their recruitment and employment services to better meet the needs of individual enterprises, industries and job seekers as well as provide tailor-made services such as job fairs and bulk interviews for job seekers and the industry, Mrs Tse added.
During the recruitment centre's opening day, two companies from the catering industry have set up counters and offer more than 100 full time vacancies for on-the-spot recruitment. Most of the vacancies offer a monthly salary ranging from $6,000 to $11,000, 25% of these vacancies do not specify a required education level while other vacancies require a Form 5 educational level. Over 60% of the jobs do not require relevant work experience. Job seekers can submit applications and attend job interviews on the spot. They are also welcome to register with the Labour Department for job referrals.
At present, about 80 establishments in the catering industry have pledged support for the recruitment services of the new centre, and they will hold job fairs at the centre. Details of the vacancies are available on the department's webpage, "Interactive Employment Service" (www.jobs.gov.hk).
The Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry is located at 34/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai. The recruitment centre occupies a floor area of 150 square metres and can accommodate recruitment counters of four to five catering enterprises and 60 job seekers at a time. The recruitment centre opens from Mondays to Fridays between 9am and 5.30pm and Saturdays between 9am and noon.
Ends/Thursday, February 5, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:48
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