Work September 2020∣Youth Hong Kong
Creating job opportunities Call to action from the Youth Employment Network Community United
Unemployment for Hong Kong’s youth is a serious problem and likely to get worse. Among 20-24-year olds, the figure is already 13.4% [27,600], approaching the worst figure on record: 14.6%. That was a consequence of the recession following the 2003 SARS outbreak. Later this year, again unemployment is expected to worsen with the rate for the catering sector as high as 17%. Worse, 20-29-year-olds are likely to suffer most.
In partnership with Simon K. Y. Lee Karen's Fund, HKFYG launched the “Combat COVID-19” project to connect unemployed young people with the underprivileged and provide them with an allowance to ease their short-term financial burdens. So far, youth like those pictured have provided domestic cleaning services to the elderly and dispatched healthcare and household necessities to over 6,000 low-income households, a service that will continue till October 2020. Enquiries Wong Man-shun 3113 7999
In an effort to meet the challenge, HKFYG’s Youth Employment Network needs more partnership projects like these. All employers can help. They can devise short-term job skills programmes, offer internships, schedule traineeships and trial work schemes: all of these options and many more can be organized with HKFYG. We just need the willpower and determination to make them work. Here are a couple of examples. Bleak forecast for 15-29-year-olds
In predictions made by MWYO, a Hong Kong think tank, a base-case scenario assumes that the local economy reaches its lowest point in the fourth quarter of 2020 and then begins to recover. MWYO forecasts a rise in the unemployment rate of persons aged 15 to 19 from 10.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 21.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The biggest threat is to 20-29-yearolds amongst whom unemployment is forecast to rise from 5.8% to 8.7% with a corresponding increase in the unemployed population of around 19,500 people.
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Hope for Success This Federation partnership project is sponsored by Prudential Hong Kong Limited and called “Hope for Success - Ready Get Set Go.” It offers participants short video introductions to emerging industries and is intended to match job-seekers with vacancies. It is forward-looking and positive and will hold online interview workshops as well as hosting a Youth Career Expo Online Platform.
Call us! Let’s discuss the opportunities in store for the Class of 2020 graduates.
In the worst-case scenario that would mean that about 25% of all Hong Kong’s jobless would be in the 20-29 age group.
More details yen.hkfyg.org.hk
Read more mwyo.org/assets/docs/career/ unemployment/Unemployment_FullReport_Eng.pdf
Enquiries HKFYG Youth Employment Network Jasmine Siu 3113 7999
