Home > Press Releases > 2008 and Before > Launching of "Security & Property Management" and "Domestic Helper" Retraining Courses With English as Medium of Instruction

The non-Chinese speaking population in Hong Kong has been experiencing difficulties in obtaining recognized qualifications and in job finding owing to language barrier. To answer the need of this group of citizens, and to satisfy demand for English speaking employees for certain employers, Employees Retraining Board commissioned Christian Action to provide English retraining courses in Security and Property Management and Domestic Helper. The two courses will be first of its kind and scheduled to commence in June 2007.

Executive Director of Employees Retraining Board, Ms. Rebecca Pun, commented at the Press Conference for the launching of the new courses that, "There are many non-Chinese speaking employees (who are not subject to any condition of stay) in Hong Kong who find it difficult to get jobs because of their inabilities to communicate in the local dialect. In response to their difficulties, Employees Retraining Board took the initiative to offer retraining programmes tailored particularly for this group, hoping to assist them in re-entering the labour market."

According to Ms. Pun, the two courses were chosen as pilots as they were well recognized and graduates had demand in the market. If received favourably, the Board would add to the list of English retraining courses other types of skill training courses and run them on a regular basis. The partner chosen for this project, Christian Action, was experienced in employees retraining services as well as assisting ethnic minorities.

Executive Director of Christian Action, Mrs. Cheung Ang Siew Mei, commented that Christian Action was honored to be the first provider of the English retraining courses. She added that, "Christian Action has always received feedback from employers that they want to employ staff who can communicate in English. In particular, commercial or residential buildings with overseas patrons or residents would require English-speaking and trained property management personnel. Also, non-Chinese families may prefer domestic helpers who can communicate in English as well as having some knowledge of their specific racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. The existing employees retraining courses are all taught in Chinese and non-Chinese speakers cannot gain access to trainings in order to get recognized qualifications and employment."

Through years of services to the ethnic minorities, Christian Action observed that though there were many ethnic minorities who could communicate in English, their incompetence in reading, speaking and writing Chinese posed major barrier for them to receive training and qualifications. This has caused the unemployment rate of ethnic minorities to be as high as 40%, much higher than that of local Chinese. Mrs. Cheung believed that the new Domestic Helper and Security & Property Management courses would help ethnic minorities to get access to vocational qualifications and the job natures were also compatible with their abilities and needs.

The two new courses will start at the end of June 2007. All non-Chinese speaking eligible Hong Kong residents aged 30 or above, possessing junior secondary school education or below with basic English literacy, can apply to enroll into the new courses. The courses are free of charge and those who complete the course with 80% attendance will be given retraining allowances. Besides industry knowledge and skills, the courses will also focus on soft skills like stress management, communications skills, and job seeking techniques. Additional content like basic Cantonese and the concept of racial respect and acceptance will also be included in the two new courses. There are standard assessments for the two new courses, and those who satisfactorily complete the courses and pass the assessments would be eligible to apply for the Security Personnel Permit or Domestic Helper Competence Card. Christian Action would extend placement services from 3 months to half year.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the course are welcome to call 2716 8813 or visit www.cats.org.hk/em/