EDB promotes Work Experience Movement (with photos)
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Mrs Lam mentioned in her speech that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has all along attached great importance to the diversified development of young people. Besides supporting classroom learning, the Government subsidises young people to join overseas exchange and internship programmes and encourages them to explore their interests and aspirations outside the classroom, with a view to preparing them for serving the community in the future. She encouraged students to broaden their horizons and to explore new ideas so that they would be able to seize different opportunities in the changing economic and social environment.
Also at the ceremony, the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, said that the prime aim of life planning education is to enable young people to realise their potential, pursue their goals and aspirations, and make informed choices in the face of the diversified pathways in academic and career development nowadays.
He pointed out that career exploration is a key component in life planning education. Noting that the work experience programmes have been well received by students, he said that the programmes have proven to be a win-win initiative from which both the participating students and the organisations have benefited a lot.
To further enhance life planning education, the EDB will provide a one-off cash grant at the amount of $100,000 per school to facilitate a smooth transition for schools which have committed to turn the Career and Life Planning Grant into regular teaching posts in the 2016/17 or 2017/18 school year. Details will be announced in due course.
This is the 11th year of the implementation of the Business-School Partnership Programme (BSPP) since its launch in 2005. The Work Experience Movement, a signature event of the BSPP, aims at mobilising more business entities, professional bodies and community organisations to provide work experience programmes for secondary school students, enhancing public awareness on the significance of life planning and nurturing a culture of supporting young people for better life planning in society at large.
More than 200 commercial and community organisations have pledged to join the Work Experience Movement to provide different kinds of work experience opportunities for secondary school students, including in the sectors of hotel and tourism, surveying, and innovation and technology. Through such career exploration activities, students can familiarise themselves with all walks of life and prepare themselves for the job market.
Ends/Friday, November 18, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:35
Issued at HKT 15:35
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