Aimed at all those who are interested in young people, their problems and concerns, hopes and aspirations, Invest in Youth, share stories, information and news. We welcome you your suggestions and comments, but ask you also to take the time and see how you might be able to join us building up partnerships. Please show your support by joining our mailing list to receive Invest in Youth every week.

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Join the Youth Employment Network!

Youth employment is an issue for the whole community, not just social service or special concern groups. According to the latest Policy Address by the Chief Executive, the Government will extend the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme by two years. The Federation welcomes this proposal and believes that it will lead to numerous opportunities for collaboration and work between all the sectors of society, particularly the business community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

To address the issue of youth employment, the Federation established the Youth Employment Network (YEN) in July 2003. The purpose of the network is to provide training and support services, which will enhance the employability of young people. YEN requires the partnership and involvement of businesses and corporations in Hong Kong. We need your help, which can be in many forms: by becoming mentors, by offering youth placements in your organizations and by offering training and re-training to enhance their employability. Afford young people the opportunity for practical experience, which provides encouragement and inspires confidence to meet market demands. Join our Network! For more information, please call Mr. Gary Tang, the Supervisor of Youth Employment at 3113 7999.

***Create Career Opportunities for Youth***

 

Working Together to Ease Youth Unemployment

With the youth unemployment rate in Hong Kong remaining at record levels, the Federation places a high priority on the enhancement of employability and entrepreneurship among young people. The Youth Employment Network (YEN) was
thus set up in July 2003, with the goal to provide young people aged 15 to 24 one-stop training and employment support services.

A major mission of YEN is to liaise with corporations, youth work agencies, Government and international organization in order that resources are pooled together to create career opportunities for youth. Some successful examples of this networking include, Project LiveWIRE, a joint venture with Shell Hong Kong Limited to help youth initiate their own business, as well as the "Airport Ambassadors Programme", organized jointly with the Airport Authority and the Labour Department. The Federation also serves as a host organization for several Government ventures, including the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme, Action S4 and the Short-term Training and Employment Programmes.

YEN looks forward to joining hands with more organizations to improve this situation of youth unemployment. The upcoming Youth Career Expo in February is a golden opportunity for employers to recruit "new blood" and to demonstrate their care and concern for non-engaged youth in Hong Kong. We urge you and your organization to host a booth at the Expo, providing suitable positions for young people. You can also post your organization's job vacancies on YEN Jobs, a web page of the Federation's u21 website dedicated to introducing potential opportunities to young people. Please do contact Mr. Gary Tang, the Supervisor of Youth Employment at 3113 7999 to explore these and other collaboration opportunities.

The YEN has also introduced the concept of Life Banking. This is a special project which helps young people make career decision, by setting forth an action plan that leads towards their career goals. With funding from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the YEN provides life banking services to young people through seminars, training workshops and one-to-one consultation. We will share this progress of this project in future issues of Invest in Youth.

To further help face the issue, the Federation has set up an Education and Career Guidance Booth at each of the 21 Youth S.P.O.Ts. The purpose of the Booth is to provide up-to-date information about various educational and training opportunities available to young people. It is hoped this will help young people make informed career decisions.

 


The Share of Youth Unemployed to the Youth Population

The youth unemployment rate is defined as the "percentage of unemployed within the entire youth labour force." However, there is another statistic which highlights how grave the situation really is; and that is the share of youth unemployed to the total youth population. According to the International Labour Orgainsation (ILO), in 2001, the share of youth unemployed to the youth population in Hong Kong was 5.1. In layman's terms, this means that 1 out of every 20 young people, between the ages of 15 and 24, was unemployed. The table below indicates the global situation.

Share of Youth Unemployed to the Youth Population (aged 15-24) in Selected
Country Share of Youth Unemployed to Youth Population in 2001 (%) Country Share of Youth Unemployed to Youth Population in 2001 (%)
Mexico 2 Sweden 6.4
Luxembourg 2.3 Norway 6.6
Austria 3 United States 6.8
Switzerland 3.7 United Kingdom 7.1
Hungary 3.9 New Zealand 7.5
Netherlands 4.1 Canada 8.3
Marco 4.4 Australia 8.8
Germany 4.4 Brazil 11.1
Japan 4.5 Poland 15.3
Hong Kong 5.1 Uruguay 18.9

Source: International Labour Organisation, Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2001-2002 (Geneva 2002)

  Connecting the Generations through Radio Drama

With funding from the Social Welfare Department's "Opportunities for the Elderly Project 2003", the service recipients of the Federation's Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung Outreaching Social Work Team joined with the elderly to participate in a radio drama. The two generations were first trained in broadcasting before successfully recording their radio drama in late 2003. The theme of the drama was to
expose the various confidence tricks and scams that were being used by criminals to prey upon the elderly. The production was later made into a CD-Rom.


 

Dancing to Learn!

Co-organized by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Federation and supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Jockey Club Continuous Life-wide Learning Centre, a dance exchange camp called "Da China Town-I" will bring together 250 young people from different cultures to share dancing experiences, while also coming up with some new moves. The camp takes place on January 26 and 27, 2004. Local dancing school, UniDancity, has kindly agreed to be the

events consultant, while G.O.D. will be providing special sweaters and Supernova will be sponsoring caps for the dancers. Other sponsors include Billy Chan Dance Concepts, Infinity Dance Studio, Skechers and Pony. Click to learn more!

  Spreading Christmas Cheer at the Airport

During the Christmas season, the Youth Volunteer Network (VNET) of the Federation joined hands with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to spread festive cheer to Hong Kong's visitors. VNET helped recruit young volunteers to sing Christmas carols and play music at the Hong Kong International Airport on December 21 and 23. With lovely faces and sweet voices, these little angels charmed visitors.

  Top Ten News Stories, through the Eyes of Children

At the close of 2003, The Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong announced what children ranked as the top ten news stories of the year. No surprise that the SARS outbreak was listed as number one, followed by news of China's space
hero Astronaut Yang Li-wei. The feisty crocodile in Nam Sang Wei secured third place. This exercise clearly demonstrates that children pay attention to what is going on around them. However, they did show indifference towards economic issues.

  Gender Differences in the HKCEE Pass Rate

According to the report of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination 2003, the examination performance of female students in Hong Kong is generally better than that of their male counterparts. Girls secured a higher pass rates in examinations in English Language, Chinese Language, English Literature and Chinese Literature. In addition, the number of female candidates who obtained 14 points or above in the best 6 subjects, exceeded that of male candidates by over 10%.

American Teenagers Cut Back on Drug Use

An annual survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed a marked decline in the number of American teenagers using illicit drugs and cigarettes. In 2002-2003, illegal drug use fell by 11% among teenagers aged between 13 and 18. However, alcohol consumption by teenagers is holding steady, according to the report.


  Sailing the Seas

Ever since the 1960s, the Ship for World Youth had been a unique international youth exchange programme. Run by the Cabinet office of the Government of Japan, the programme aims to foster a spirit of international cooperation, while promoting friendship and mutual understanding between young people of Japan and around the world. From early January until March 2004, 120 Japanese youth and 130 young
people from other countries will enjoy a voyage of a lifetime on Nippon Maru. Through their participation in various on-board

activities including sports, seminars and lectures and visiting various ports of call, cross-cultural understanding is enhanced. Check out the wonderful cruise here.

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Copyright© 2003 The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups