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The Commission on Strategic Development (CSD), chaired by the Chief Executive, will discuss the promotion of employment in the short to medium term at its meeting next Thursday (February 12).
The secretariat of the commission today (February 5) issued a paper on the subject for consideration by members. The paper highlights that the recent increases in unemployment in the financial services and real estate and construction sectors have taken place largely among higher-skilled workers. Those in the trading and logistics and tourism and consumption-related sectors have occurred more noticeably among lower-skilled workers.
The paper also outlines the multi-pronged approach adopted by the Government in tackling the employment challenge. These include measures to create job opportunities, support enterprises in preserving employment, provide training, retraining, skills-upgrading and job-search support services, and support employment for the disadvantaged and the unemployed.
The paper examines the experience of major economies such as the United States, United Kingdom, the Mainland and Singapore in promoting employment. Some economies have emphasised training, retraining and upgrading the skills of their workforces. Their intention is for their workers to gain the new skills required by new industries such as environmental technologies, digital industries, creative industries, advanced manufacturing and healthcare.
The paper invites members of the commission to advise on a number of strategic issues. These include new measures to stimulate employment, public and private sector co-operation in creating jobs and supporting the unemployed, school leavers and fresh graduates, and the policy direction that Hong Kong should take in preparing its workforce for the future development of the economy.
"Promoting employment is a key priority of the Government in responding to the current economic downturn. We believe that the Government will benefit immensely from members' views in drawing up policies and measures to support employment for our workers", a government spokesman said.
The CSD discussion paper is available for downloading at:(www.cpu.gov.hk/english/2009_csd_6th_meeting.htm).
Ends/Thursday, February 5, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:00
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