Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convener Wong Leong Kuan quoted officials of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) as saying yesterday that more than 95,000 people have enrolled in the fourth phase of the government’s continuing education development plan that was launched in 2020, with “a relatively large” number attending courses such as vocational and life-skills training, as well as examinations
According to the government, local residents aged at least 15 are granted a 6,000-pataca subsidy when enrolling in courses run by the city’s various continuing education institutions until the fourth phase of the plan ends in August this year.
Wong made the remarks during yesterday’s press briefing after the government-appointed council’s regular closed-door meeting with Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) and DSEDJ officials, as well as an official of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM), at the Community Integrated Building in Coloane’s Seac Pai Van housing estate.
As for the city’s vocational education system in high schools, Wong also quoted DSEDJ officials as saying that there are nine schools offering nearly 40 vocational training courses, adding that the number of students enrolled in vocational training courses over the past three years accounts for about seven percent of secondary school students.
According to the DSEDJ officials, Wong said, more than 30 people have joined the bureau’s Youth Professional Development Programme that was launched last month, in which participating companies will make arrangements for their young staff members to go to different regions such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), including the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone, or to foreign countries for post-study and professional practice.
Meanwhile, Wong quoted a DSAL official as saying that the bureau carried out multiple vocational training programmes last year, in which about 21,000 students enrolled. Among the courses, Wong added, apprenticeships were the most popular among young people.
As of the end last year, 28,000 attendees who received their appraisals after completing the training courses were issued local, mainland and international recognition certificates, Wong noted, pointing out that among them, over 5,400 attendees had obtained mainland or internationally recognised occupational skill certificates through the “One Examination Multiple Certificates” mode, involving occupations such as electricians.
In the future, according to the DSAL official, the bureau will put more effort into providing language and hospitality training and certification projects, Wong said.
Deputy Convener of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Wong Leong Kuan (right) and U Chi Lek, a member of the government-appointed council, pose after a regular closed-door meeting of the council at the Seac Pai Van Community Integrated Building in Coloane yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
