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).
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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.
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***Create
Career Opportunities for Youth*** |
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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.
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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. |
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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 |
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Source: International Labour Organisation,
Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2001-2002 (Geneva
2002)
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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. |
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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! |
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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. |
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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. |
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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%. |
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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.
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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
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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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To
view the previous issue, simply click here |
Copyright© 2003 The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups |