Since the admission of an internship programme for local university graduates began August 1, about 200 interns have or will soon set off to various Mainland cities as interns.

The cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Panyu and Hangzhou.

Speaking at a ceremony for the Internship Programme for University Graduates today, Commissioner for Labour Cherry Tse said as of October 15 about 1,000 graduates have been employed by local enterprises as interns under the programme. Their average monthly salary is $8,800 and the highest offer is $22,000.

The programme provides 4,000 places for university graduates to work as interns and receive training for six to 12 months in local or Mainland enterprises. Up to 1,000 places are earmarked for Mainland internships.

For local internships, graduates receive training in their capacity as employees and are paid wages commensurate with the duties, responsibilities and content of the training posts. An employer is eligible to receive a training subsidy of $2,000 per intern per month.

Mainland internships are not premised on an employment relationship. Interns are entitled to a living allowance of $3,000 per month and, depending on circumstances, an accommodation allowance of $1,500 per month from the Hong Kong Government.