The Labour Department (LD) will hold a large-scale job fair at Yau Tong Community Hall from May 15 to 17. Vacancies in catering, retail, property management, business services and other industries will be offered. Twenty-three participating organisations will set up booths and conduct on-the-spot recruitment each day.
 
     A total of 69 organisations, offering about 5 600 vacancies, will participate in the three-day fair. The vacancies offered cover a wide variety of positions such as summer part-time sales worker, clerk, cargo services officer, hospital operation assistant, engineer assistant, investigation trainee, receptionist, security guard, driver, storekeeper, waiter/waitress, chef, technician, cashier, packer and more. Job seekers can find more information on the LD's Interactive Employment Service website (www.jobs.gov.hk).
 
     Around 80 per cent of the vacancies are for full-time jobs. Most vacancies offer monthly salaries ranging from $9,000 to $16,000. About 97 per cent of the vacancies require a Secondary Six education level or below. Around 74 per cent are open to job seekers without relevant work experience, and many vacancies are suitable for young people and secondary school graduates.
 
     Job seekers can submit applications on the spot and may be selected for on-site interviews. They can also make enquiries on employment services at the LD's counter at the venue.
 
     The job fair will be held from 11am to 5.30pm at Yau Tong Community Hall, 38 Ko Chiu Road, Yau Tong, Kowloon. Admission is free.

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Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 12) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Shek O Beach and Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island.  Beach-goers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

     Christian Family Service Centre has been issued a Public Subscription Permit to hold a territory-wide flag sale from 7am to 12.30pm today (May 12), a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said. 
 
     For enquiries, please call the SWD's hotline at 2343 2255, or the Charitable Fund-raising Control Team at 2832 4311 during office hours. Information on the flag days of the month is available at the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew/). Permits for flag days containing contact information of the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap/). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.
 
     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by the Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).
 
     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) expressed grave concern over the lift incident at Paris Court of Sheungshui Tower Centre today (May 11) and has immediately commenced a thorough and detailed investigation into the incident.

     The preliminary investigation conducted by the EMSD revealed that the suspension ropes of the lift concerned were intact, and the incident might be attributed to the unintended car movement of the lift. The EMSD is carrying out an in-depth investigation at the moment in order to ascertain the cause of the incident. The EMSD has also issued a prohibition order to the lift concerned, the operation of the lift could only be allowed to resume after the completion of a thorough inspection by a registered lift engineer who could certify the safe working order of the lift.

      As a prudent measure, the EMSD is now carrying out an immediate inspection with the registered lift contractor of the lift involved in the incident for seven other passenger lifts and two other goods lifts in the housing estate of the same brand as the one in the incident. The inspection is expected to be completed by tomorrow morning. The EMSD has also requested other registered lift contractors to complete a special inspection within two weeks for about 90 lifts of the same brand currently installed in Hong Kong to ensure safety.

     The EMSD will expedite the completion of the investigation, including that of whether there have been contraventions of the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance. The EMSD will strictly enforce the law if contravention has been identified.

     The EMSD is deeply saddened by the incident and again expressed its deepest condolences to the victim's family. The EMSD will do its utmost to provide the family with appropriate assistance.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (May 11) led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) delegation with over 120 members and working staff to start their visit to Sichuan Province by attending the high-level meeting cum First Plenary of the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference, the Hong Kong-Sichuan Exchange Conference on Investment and Trade Co-operation, and events related to post-earthquake reconstruction support work after the massive Wenchuan earthquake of 2008.

     In the morning, Mrs Lam led all of the delegation members to meet with the Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, Mr Peng Qinghua. Mrs Lam said the delegation visiting Sichuan this time comprises a large number of members including government officials, six members of the Executive Council, representatives from various organisations that participated in reconstruction support work, leaders of business chambers and people from creative industries. She thanked the Sichuan Government for its thoughtful and comprehensive arrangements for the HKSAR delegation's visit. She said Hong Kong people dedicated themselves to the reconstruction work in Sichuan after the Wenchuan earthquake 10 years ago, and the proactive participation by the non-governmental organisations was particularly touching. She added that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country, and said the co-operation between Hong Kong and Sichuan should carry on from past successes while creating new achievements in the future. She expressed the belief that, based on Hong Kong's post-earthquake reconstruction support work and the strong bonds between the people of Hong Kong and Sichuan, there is huge potential for strengthening economic development, livelihood improvement, creative industries, innovation and technology and youth development work of the two places. She said she looked forward to a new stage of Hong Kong-Sichuan co-operation by launching the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference today.

     Later, Mrs Lam and Mr Peng co-chaired the high-level meeting cum First Plenary of the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference with the attendance of the HKSAR Government members of the delegation. At the meeting, Mrs Lam said the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference was established through the support of the Central People's Government and the efforts made by both the Hong Kong and Sichuan governments. She expressed the hope that Hong Kong and Sichuan would focus on enhancing co-operation in three directions, namely to contribute together to the Belt and Road Initiative, to leverage the development opportunities in innovation and entrepreneurship, and to foster people-to-people bonds. After the meeting, Mrs Lam and Mr Peng, together with the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO), Mr Zhang Xiaoming, and the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR (CPGLO), Mr Wang Zhimin, witnessed the signing of the arrangement for the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference and the memorandum for the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary of the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference between Sichuan and Hong Kong.

     Afterwards, Mrs Lam and all of the delegation members joined the Hong Kong-Sichuan Exchange Conference on Investment and Trade Co-operation. They witnessed the signing of a number of co-operation agreements between organisations from creative industries, higher education institutions, associations from different sectors and business enterprises, demonstrating that Hong Kong-Sichuan co-operation has passed beyond the traditional relationship in economic and trade areas and is heading towards multifaceted and comprehensive co-operation.

     After the ceremony, Mrs Lam and the HKSAR Government members of the delegation visited an exhibition held by the Sichuan Provincial Government on the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up, HK-Sichuan co-operation and 10th anniversary of HK's post-earthquake reconstruction support work in Sichuan. The exhibition reviewed the history of Hong Kong and Sichuan since the reform and opening up of the country 40 years ago and Hong Kong's post-earthquake reconstruction support work in Sichuan in the past 10 years, and also looked ahead to future development in co-operation.

     At noon, Mrs Lam and all of the delegation members joined a lunch hosted by the Sichuan Provincial Government. After the lunch, Mrs Lam and the HKSAR Government members of the delegation visited the Sichuan University-The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction. The institute was built with RMB200 million in funding support by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and opened in 2013, and comprises six laboratories concerned with disasters and a disaster information resources centre. It is the first institute established in the Mainland focusing on research into preventing disasters, minimising the impact of natural disasters and implementing post-disaster reconstruction. Mrs Lam toured the facilities and exchanged views with the Hong Kong students studying in the institute.

     Mrs Lam later participated in an experience sharing session of “5.12 Reconstruction – Past, Present and Future” organised by the Development Bureau. In her opening remarks, she said the HKSAR had injected HK$10 billion and supported about 190 reconstruction projects. During the process, she was deeply impressed by the importance of advance planning, sustainable development as well as management and operation after project completion. Noting that Hong Kong's "can do" spirit was showcased during the course of the reconstruction support work, she said as long as Hong Kong continues with the spirit, the city is set to have a better future and contribute more to the country. At the same time, other delegation members including Executive Council members and representatives from the business chambers visited the Sichuan HKJC Olympic School, which was built with the support of the HKJC, and the Dujiangyan irrigation system respectively.

     After the sharing session, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the City University of Hong Kong Chengdu Research Institute, and attended the opening ceremony of ARTS + iNNOVATION, which is a public service space for research, training and entrepreneurship in creative media and digitalised society. After the ceremony, Mrs Lam toured a virtual reality technology project about Dunhuang's Mogao Caves at the Centre for Applied Computing and Interactive Media, Chengdu, inside the facility.

     In the evening, the HKSAR Government hosted a thank-you dinner with about 160 participants including Mr Zhang, Mr Wang, leaders of the Sichuan Provincial Government and delegation members. In her speech, Mrs Lam expressed her sincere gratitude for the support offered by the Sichuan Provincial Government, HKMAO and CPGLO in HKSAR's post-earthquake reconstruction support work in Sichuan, and the active participation by various sectors represented by the delegation members.

     Mrs Lam will continue her visit to Sichuan tomorrow (May 12).