The findings of a survey show that Macau residents’ needs for training and professional development are often closely related to their social needs and career advancement, with over 70 percent of the survey respondents expecting the government to set up an official training platform with certificates.
The Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM – commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese) and the Macau Society of Social Sciences jointly conducted between April and last month their “Survey on Macau Residents’ Needs for Training and Professional Development”. A total of 1,213 questionnaires were collected by means of face-to-face, telephone and online interviews, of which 1,144 resulted in valid questionnaires, mainly from local residents aged between 18 and 44. Over half of the respondents are university graduates and now full-time employees covering the hotel and catering, wholesale and retail, as well as cultural, entertainment, gaming and other service sectors. The findings were released yesterday by the two groups’ representatives, including lawmaker Leong Sun Iok and Department of Economics Assistant Professor at the University Macau (UM) Kwan Fung, during a press conference at Gung Luen’s Amateur Continuing Study Centre in Nape yesterday.
According to the findings, of the more than 1,100 respondents, 72 percent agreed that vocational training has a significantly positive effect on an individual’s career development, yet time and financial factors are often their main barriers to career advancement, with 28.89 percent and 19.57 percent of the respondents indicating “time clashes” and “lack of time”, while 16.47 percent said that financial circumstances restricted them from pursuing further studies.
With the aim of encouraging local residents to upgrade their personal qualities and skills through continuing education or by obtaining certificates, so as to complement the diversified development of Macau’s economy and different industries through the creation of a learning society, the government has launched its continuing education subsidy scheme.
According to the findings of the survey, the public are inclined to make use of the subsidy scheme to pay for their course fees, with only about 10 percent of the respondents indicating that they had not used the subsidy for further studies in fields such as art and music, translation, business and management, computer science, education science, as well as health and wellness, showing that “providing financial subsidies” and “flexible on-the-job training” were the most favoured motivational strategies by respondents.
In addition, according to the findings, more than 70 percent of the respondents called for the setting up of an official accredited training platform, with 20 percent of them pointing out that Macau had “seriously insufficient” channels for looking for training courses. The findings added that 55 percent of the respondents expressed their wish to obtain an officially recognised certificate upon completion of the training.
Speaking to the media after the press conference, Leong said that Gung Luen had also received a number of cases in which individuals’ training certificates were not recognised and they found it difficult to find employment due to the different standards of different industries in different regions, urging the government to set up a system of training, accreditation and vocational and employment counselling targeting at different industries and, at the same time, to provide one-stop services for local residents, so as to make it easy for them to look for training courses, complete the examinations, obtain certificates and be recommended for employment.
Leong also suggested that enterprises should provide on-the-job training opportunities for their employees, in which the incentives should not only be embodied in the remuneration package, but should also include opportunities for upward mobility, for example, the acquisition of certain certificates or the participation in professional certification training could result in additional points to advance one’s career.
Representatives of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (Gung Luen in Cantonese) and Macau Society of Social Sciences, including lawmaker Leong Sun Iok (second from right) and Department of Economics Assistant Professor at the University Macau (UM) Kwan Fung (second from left), pose during yesterday’s press conference at Gung Luen’s Amateur Continuing Study Centre in Nape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
