Education and employment opportunities for school leavers have increased thanks to Government efforts to promote alternatives in the post-secondary sector, Deputy Secretary for Education & Manpower Edward Yau says.

It will help students cope with the development of a knowledge-based economy and enhance the competitiveness of individuals and society, he added.

Launching the Information Expo for Secondary School Leavers today, Mr Yau said 20 institutions will offer self-financing post-secondary programmes in 2004-05 with the provision of 189 courses and 14,000 degree and sub-degree places.

Together with publicly-funded places, the age participation rate in post-secondary education has risen from 30% in 2002 to over half this year.

University places to rise in 2005-2008

Mr Yau said among the graduates of self-financing post-secondary programmes last year, half opted for full-time employment while the others continued their education.

"The Government has pledged that with available resources, the Year 2 and Year 3 places in local universities will increase in 2005-08 to provide more bridging opportunities for sub-degree graduates," he said.

To cater for students who cannot fit in conventional schooling and mature students aged 21 or above who could not complete their secondary school education previously, Project Yi Jin provides an alternative route to continuing education.

A recent survey on Project Yi Jin graduates of the first three school years found 37% are pursuing further studies, 36% are working while 17% are working and studying simultaneously.

To enhance manpower quality and competitiveness, the Executive Council endorsed in February a seven-level qualifications framework covering academic, professional and continuing education sectors as well as an associated quality-assurance mechanism.

The framework provides an objective standard for different ranks of qualifications and clears paths for continuing education.

Enthusiastic response

Deputy Commissioner for Labour Jenny Chor said the Labour Department's Youth Pre-employment Training Programme has trained more than 57,000 students in the past five years while the Youth Work Experience & Training Scheme has provided 10,000 on-the-job training opportunities in two years.

She said the Labour Department has introduced a referral system so young people can simultaneously benefit from the pre-employment and on-the-job training of the programmes.

"To provide an alternative to traditional salaried employment for young people, the department launched a Youth Self-employment Support Scheme in May to offer training and assistance to people aged 18 to 24 with an educational attainment of Form 5 to below degree level who are regarded as having motivation for self-employment," Ms Chor said.

"The response is enthusiastic and we have so far received 3,800 applications."

The expo will provide secondary school leavers with the latest information on further studies and employment opportunities to facilitate them in planning for their future.

Apart from the expo, the bureau and department will open three centres in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories to provide advisory services to Form 5 school leavers and parents. They will also launch a counselling hotline and a chat room.