Senior Labour Officer Raymond Ho is project manager of the internship scheme.

Entering Hong Kong's job market this summer will hopefully be made easier for scores of fresh graduates of local universities and other tertiary institutions, thanks to a government-private sector sponsored internship program.

The program, announced by Financial Secretary John Tsang during his 2009-10 Budget speech in February, aims to help fresh graduates enter the job market. It is also seeks to ease rising unemployment as Hong Kong continues to feel the pinch of global recession.

Under the program, graduates of tertiary institutions will receive internship training at local or mainland enterprises for six months to 12 months.

The government has set aside a HK$140 million funding for this project and it now actively encourages private firms to provide internship training to fresh graduates to facilitate their eventual entry into the local labour market.

This program is expected to benefit some 4,000 university graduates.

Although this scheme is not expected to be officially launched until August, the Labour Department is now stepping up preparatory work and intensifying liaisons with different business organizations, small and medium-size enterprises and the 12 participating tertiary institutions.

The government will formally launch the internship program and announce its details after the Legislative Council Finance Committee approval next week (May 8) of funding for this project. After the launch, graduates of tertiary institutions can then lodge their internship applications with the participating companies and universities.

Speaking to China Daily in an exclusive interview, Senior Labour Officer Raymond Ho, said the government's most important policy objective today is "to preserve jobs and back private enterprises" amid the global recession.

Ho, who is also project manager for the Internship Program for University Graduates, said the government launched the scheme amid the global financial tsunami as it expects fresh graduates to encounter far bigger challenges than before as a result of market changes as they attempt to enter the job market this summer.

He said the government agrees with the view of officials of tertiary institutions that an internship program will provide a new choice to fresh university graduates and improve their chance of finding gainful employment after completing on-the-job training in the course of their internship.

He added that an August launch for the program is ideal as most students are now busy preparing for examinations and funding for the project has yet to be approved by the Legislative Council.

The internship program has two components. About 3,000 internship opportunities will be made available by private firms in Hong Kong. Companies on the mainland will provide 1,000 internship spots.

Under the program, university graduates will be expected to enter into and develop an employer-employee relationship with local firms which will provide internship training. Interns are to be paid for their services according to prevailing market rates which means an intern's salary should be no lower than HK$4,000 a month.

During internship, an employer can apply to obtain from the government a subsidy of HK$2,000 per intern per month.

"It is reasonable for an employer to contribute at least HK$2,000 each month for use in paying an intern's monthly salary," Ho said.

"We do not rule out the possibility of some employers paying an intern a salary of only HK$4,000 a month. If the government finds out that this salary scale is not consistent with prevailing market rates and is not fair, we will reject that employer's participation in this internship programme. We want to ensure that the question of 'cheap labour' will not arise," he added.

Fresh graduates who opt to do their internship with companies on the mainland will not be expected to form employer-employee relationships, he said. Each intern who choose to do internship on the mainland will be given by the Hong Kong government a living allowance of HK$3,000 a month plus an accommodation allowance of HK$1,500 a month, if applicable.

In addition, the government will take out an insurance cover for those who will do their internship on the mainland as protection against risks of personal accidents and personal liabilities.

Various factors will be taken into account by the Labour Department and participating tertiary institutions in internship programs on the mainland.

These include the content of training programs that will be provided by mainland enterprises, benefits on offer by the training programs and the availability of follow-up support services.

Ho said mainland enterprises will be required to draw up training programs for interns and appoint experienced staff who will serve as mentors of the interns. The participating mainland enterprises also need to provide an undertaking that interns from Hong Kong will not displace existing employees.

The number of participating mainland firms is not known as the internship programme has yet to be officially launched.

Earlier, the Labour Department called on major business chambers to invite member companies to participate in the internship programme. It also invited the support and participation of small and medium-size enterprises.

Many firms across different industry sectors have phoned the department and expressed interest in participating, while others made enquiries on how they could participate.

Companies interested to take in interns in summer should provide the Labour Department or any one of the participating tertiary institutions various relevant information, including the number of internship places which they can offer, the nature of jobs on offer to fresh graduates and the monthly salary which they can offer.

Fresh graduates are advised to obtain information about internship opportunities from their institutions where they completed their studies. Alternatively, they can send their internship applications to the university where they studied or directly to an employer of their choice.

Ho said internship training on the mainland can provide fresh graduates valuable insights which can prove very useful in their future career.

"Internship on the mainland can give graduates invaluable experience and insights as they can see for themselves the vibrant economic development of our country and the growing economic ties between Hong Kong and the mainland," he said. "Graduates should set their sights on broader horizons beyond six to 12 months as the experience will enhance their long-term career prospects."

Ho said the internship project is a win-win situation for the participating enterprises, fresh graduates and the community at large. As the scheme enjoys some subsidy from the government, participating firms have a stronger incentive to hire more fresh university graduates. For graduates, the internship scheme will provide them with an additional avenue to broaden their career prospects.

"We are very confident of the success of this internship scheme because many firms are willing to offer jobs and training opportunities to fresh graduates," he said.

In the meantime, the Labour Department is currently thrashing out with business chambers and tertiary institutions relevant regulations and guidelines that will govern the operations of the training program.

A dedicated website will also be launched to publicize this scheme.

The Labour Department will announce details of the internship programme right after the Legislative Council Finance Committee approval of funding for this project.

(HK Edition 05/01/2009 page3)