The Development Bureau (DEVB) announced today (June 11) that the Government will continue to provide training subsidies this year to employers hiring graduates and assistant professionals of the engineering, architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape sectors.
A spokesman for the DEVB said that with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job market remaining, both fresh graduates of the relevant professional sectors and assistant professionals who have just completed professional training or are awaiting professional assessment examination are facing difficulties in securing jobs. The Government is launching a measure entitled Support for Engineering, Architectural, Surveying, Town Planning and Landscape Sectors 2.0 (Support Measure 2.0), which will provide employment opportunities for graduates and assistant professionals of the relevant professional sectors with a view to retaining talents for the long-term healthy development of the sectors.
A total of 1 700 subsidy places will be provided under Support Measure 2.0. The subsidy places are divided into two groups. The first group provides 550 subsidy places to private organisations employing fresh graduates who studied architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape architecture. The employers with approved subsidy places will receive a subsidy of $5,610 per month for up to 18 months for providing recognised professional training to each eligible graduate employed.
The second group with 1 150 subsidy places is to support private organisations to employ assistant professionals of the engineering, architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape sectors. For the engineering sector, the subsidy scheme is mainly targeted at assistant engineers who complete Scheme "A" Graduate Training of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers in 2021. For the other four sectors, assistant professionals who complete the training recognised by the relevant professional institutes in 2021 will have priority in receiving the subsidy. The employers with approved subsidy places will receive a subsidy of $10,000 per month for up to 12 months for providing opportunities for recognised professional practice to each eligible assistant professional employed.
"With the severe impact of the pandemic, graduates and assistant professionals lacking working experience are more vulnerable in the job market, which has grown particularly competitive. Through Support Measure 2.0, we encourage private organisations to recruit graduates and continue the employment of assistant professionals, enabling those who have aspirations to obtain relevant professional qualifications to remain in the professions. This could help retain the talents and foster the development of the professional sectors in the long run," the spokesman for the DEVB said.
Support Measure 2.0 is open for application from June 18. The deadlines for application for the graduate group and the assistant professional group are November 30 and August 31 respectively. The guidelines and application forms can be downloaded from the DEVB's website (www.devb.gov.hk/en/issues_in_focus/support_easpl2/index.html).
Follow this news feed: East Asia