HK Govt Conducts Manpower StudiesThe Hong Kong government is conducting two studies on the impact of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the restructuring of Hong Kong' s economy on the local labor market.Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, commissioner for labor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), made the disclosure when he addressed the 25th Jubilee Anniversary and Speech Day of the Cotton Spinners Association Prevocational School Friday. Cheung said that as China is well-poised to join the WTO, Hong Kong is expected to benefit from new business and employment opportunities. To grasp these new opportunities, Hong Kong has to possess the right kind of human resources in order to tie in with such developments, he added. He pointed out that the two studies would cover the employment prospects of workers aged 40 and above in the labor market and the collection of views from employer associations and trade unions on the demand of training for workers. The findings of these studies would be useful in formulating long-term policies on human resources development in Hong Kong, he noted. Cheung said that while the government is strengthening its overall and long-term planning of human resources, it has not overlooked the employment demand of individual working stratums. In order to alleviate the unemployment problem of young people, the government last September launched the first-ever Youth Pre- Employment Training Program, which benefited more than 10,000 youngsters in one or more modules, he said. He said that with breakthrough development in technology and the rapid expansion of the Internet, the worldwide economic and social structures would also undergo radical changes. Noting that Hong Kong's education system would undergo major and significant changes, Cheung said that regardless of the final direction of education reforms, there is a consensus in the community that the next generation should be willing to learn, effective in communication, ready to accept responsibilities and eager to innovate. |
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