In view of the severe blow brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to the economy of Hong Kong, the Environment Bureau (ENB) will launch the Green Employment Scheme (GES) as an initiative to create jobs. The GES will provide more than 500 time-limited jobs in the realm of environmental protection in the coming months to offer employment opportunities and further promote green actions. The first batch of more than 100 jobs will open for recruitment through different channels next week.
A spokesman for the ENB said today (May 22), "The GES covers three categories of environmental protection work, namely 'Electric Vehicles (EVs) Popularisation', 'Use Less, Waste Less' and 'Leave No Trace at Mountain and Sea'. The positions, both full-time and part-time, will mostly last for about six months to a year. The scheme, with positions ranging from environmental project co-ordinators, environmental education officers and assistants, green ambassadors, eco-tour guides and environmental investigators to other workers, is suitable for candidates with different skills and qualifications."
To promote popularisation of EVs, the ENB has earmarked $2 billion to launch a pilot scheme to subsidise the installation of EV charging-enabling infrastructure in car parks of existing private residential buildings. In this regard, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has created 30 Project Co-ordinator (electric vehicle) positions under the category of "EV Popularisation" to strengthen manpower in contacting and assisting property management companies, owners' corporations and owners' committees to participate in this pilot subsidy scheme.
Furthermore, under the category of "Use Less, Waste Less" of the GES, about 30 posts of Project Assistant (Waste Reduction and Recycling) will be created to assist in strengthening support for different waste reduction and recycling projects. The Community Green Stations (CGSs) under the EPD will also offer through their operators some 45 jobs, including Environmental Education Officers and Assistants, to enhance their operations.
The more than 100 jobs mentioned above will be open for recruitment next week via various channels, such as newspapers and Facebook pages of individual CGSs. The new recruits are expected to start reporting for duty from July to September.
Meanwhile, recruitment for the remaining 400 or so jobs under the GES will gradually commence in the coming months with details as follows:
The EPD and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will recruit 150 green ambassadors and 50 cleaning workers to promote the "Leave No Trace at Mountain and Sea" outing concept. Recruitment will be mainly conducted in two phases with the first commencing in June. A further 50 eco-tour guides and artisans will be employed under the scheme to assist in promoting the environmental and ecological protection of country parks and the remote countryside. Furthermore, to protect the shoreline environment, the EPD will call up around 100 green ambassadors to participate in beach cleaning and publicity work. Environmental investigators will also be recruited to assist in the preparation of the implementation of the voluntary scheme on phasing out products containing microbeads.
To further tie in with the work of "Use Less, Waste Less", the EPD will employ more than 50 waste reduction and recycling green ambassadors to strengthen the promotion of the "Plastic-free" School Lunch Pilot Scheme, using less disposable tableware, food and yard waste recycling and more.
"We will start recruiting next week through different channels based on the requirements of the respective positions, in the hope of offering time-limited employment opportunities for different sectors in the community at this difficult time while further promoting green work," the spokesman said.
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