SCS encourages non-ethnic Chinese interns to add value to themselves (with photos)

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, attended a sharing session on the Internship Programme for Non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) Students today (August 12) to listen to the students sharing their internship experiences and takeaways, learn how their internship experience has inspired them to pursue their future career paths, and encourage them to prepare for future employment.

     The Civil Service Bureau has been organising the Internship Programme for NEC Students since 2019 with a view to helping young NECs accumulate work experience and strengthen their competitiveness in seeking jobs, as well as deepening their understanding of the operation of the Government through the internship experience. Since the launch of the internship programme, 180 NEC students, including the 36 students who joined this year, have participated in the programme and were arranged to undertake internships in various bureaux and departments for about eight weeks.

     Mrs Yeung said she was delighted with the students' positive responses about the programme. She said, "The Government attaches great importance to youth training and development, and NECs are important members of Hong Kong. Since last year, we have been providing various online Chinese language self-learning resources to help interns in the internship programme understand the Chinese language used and the level of Chinese language proficiency required in daily work, thereby increasing their motivation to learn Chinese and encouraging them to continue with efforts in learning the Chinese language in a bid to add value to themselves. A successful example is that an NEC student who had participated in the internship programme recently applied successfully for the post of Executive Officer after accumulating work experience through her own efforts.

     "I encourage people with aspirations to serve the community to join the Government in serving the public. Civil service recruitment is conducted under the principle of open and fair competition, and the Government will ensure that the Chinese language proficiency requirement for civil service grades is no more than necessary for performing the job. We also encourage departments to design their own language tests having regard to the job requirements of individual civil service grades, so as to provide applicants with an additional avenue for meeting the appointment requirements in respect of language proficiency."

     Miss Singh Ananya is one of the interns and was posted to the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. She helped with data collation and research work on different subjects, and assisted in the introduction of webpages presented in ethnic minority languages. She also had the chance to participate in various events of the Equal Opportunities Commission. She said that the internship has broadened her horizons and helped develop her social skills.

     Another intern, Miss Caicedo Varas Carla Cristina, who is studying data science at the university, just finished her internship in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). She had the opportunity to participate in the research and development of the EMSD's self-developed artificial intelligence chiller optimisation system and assist in writing programmes for the Energy Data Management System operated and managed by the EMSD. This allowed her to apply her theoretical knowledge to practical work, and gain work experience that is not easy to come by in daily life, thus boosting her confidence in undertaking future work.