YEN: Hope for Success

Creating job opportunities Call to action from the Youth Employment Network

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 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.

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.

Read more mwyo.org/assets/docs/career/ unemployment/Unemployment_FullReport_Eng.pdf

Community United

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

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.

More details yen.hkfyg.org.hk

Enquiries HKFYG Youth Employment Network

Jasmine Siu 3113 7999