Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convener Lam Ka Chun quoted Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) officials yesterday as saying that so far 25 percent of those who completed the government’s Subsidised-Training Scheme have found a job.
Lam made the remarks during yesterday’s press briefing after the council’s closed-door meeting with DSAL officials about the city’s labour market and the implementation of the government-sponsored training scheme at the Community Integrated Building in Coloane’s Seac Pai Van public housing estate.
According to the bureau, the Subsidised-Training Scheme comprises the government’s Technical Skills Development Subsidy Training Programme, which aims to enhance the technical skills of the working population, and the Employability Subsidy Training Programme, which aims to help the jobless enter the job market.
Lam quoted the committee members’ concern about the government’s new “work trial allowance scheme” for the unemployed, which will allow participants to “learn while they work” and be paid by the government.
The chief executive spoke about the “work trial allowance scheme” during a Q&A plenary session in the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday, saying that the current Employability Subsidy Training Programme could not help all participants match jobs once they finished the course, so consideration would be given to converting the associated costs of the programme into allowances for on-the-job-training.
Lam quoted the DSAL officials as saying that the bureau will review the subsidised-training scheme with the aim of optimising the scheme by expanding participants’ eligibility, relaxing the requirements for course completion and covering more target participants.
Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council member Leong Chon Kit said at yesterday’s meeting that the government should consider subsidising large companies or industry associations to organise in-house training programmes to help young practitioners develop the knowledge and skills required in the workplace, thereby creating incentives for enterprises to employ trainees.
Leong made the remarks before the start of the closed-door meeting.
Deputy convener of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Lam Ka Chun (right) and Leong Chon Kit, a member of the government-appointed council, pose after a closed-door regular meeting of the council at the Seac Pai Van Community Integrated Building yesterday. Photo: Ginnie Liang
