Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung

The Joint University Programmes Admissions System will release its results next Wednesday. I would like to extend my best wishes to all candidates of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) that they could find the path that best fit them. DSE is just one of the many stops in one’s life journey, and there are still many possibilities ahead. By exploring different professions at an early age, it helps not only broaden one’s horizons, plan well for a life career, it also helps young people choose the best career path for themselves.

Maritime career planning workshop

In recent years, elements of lifelong learning and career information have been embedded in the curriculum of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, with a view to equipping the students with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude so that they can make the wise choices in accordance with their interests, abilities and career aspirations. The Maritime Port Board therefore also strengthens its educational efforts to primary and secondary schools through maritime-themed publications and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workshops, so as to cultivate students’ interest in the maritime field at an early stage.

We have commissioned a youth training organisation earlier to conduct career planning workshops for a total of 10 primary and secondary schools. The workshops are divided into a primary school version (for students from Primary 4 to Primary 6) and a secondary school version (for students from Secondary 4 to Secondary 6), addressing the career planning needs of different age groups.

The primary school version focuses on introducing various maritime professions in an interesting and interactive way, and allowing the students to match the jobs with their own talent. It aims to inspire them to explore maritime-related careers in their formative years by fostering an early interest in the maritime field.

Senior secondary school students are at a critical stage in dealing with public examinations, subject selection, career choices, etc. Our career planning workshop focuses on introducing the various types of maritime professions available and their different job requirements, thus helping students to understand and differentiate among careers, jobs and sectors. By guiding students to reflect on and review their interests, abilities and aspirations, they can gain a better understanding of themselves and formulate medium and long-term goals for study or career development.

Participating students were highly engaged, and many of them expressed that the workshop broadened their knowledge about different professions in the maritime industry. I am also pleased to learn that some students said that they would consider maritime professions such as maritime lawyers, naval architects, maritime insurance brokers, captains, chief engineers, as well as positions like Maritime Officers and Marine Inspectors in the Marine Department, as their future career goals.

Let us watch the videos (in Chinese only) together to learn more about the primary school version workshop and the secondary school version workshop on-site, and the students’ feedback and responses after the activities.

Boat tour and sharing session under the Maritime & Aviation Internship Scheme

The Maritime & Aviation Training Fund is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Its flagship programme, the Maritime & Aviation Internship Scheme, has been progressing very well, and providing over 2,500 maritime-related internship opportunities in the past 10 years.

The internship scheme allows young people to early understand the daily operations and career prospects of the maritime industry, helping them gain the relevant knowledge, enhance work competence, and discover their own interests.

Under Secretary for Transport & Logistics Liu Chun-san earlier attended a boat tour and sharing session organised by the fund for a group of students participating in the internship scheme, and served as the guest of honor and delivered a welcome speech. In addition to face-to-face exchanges with industry leaders, students also visited the port and maritime facilities on both sides of Victoria Harbour.

Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung wrote this article and posted it on his blog on August 3.