Increasing upward mobility opportunities for young people  (2014/12/19)

President, Hong Kong has taken advantage of the opportunity of Mainland's reform and opening over the past 20-odd years and experienced a period of rapid economic growth. However, as the Mainland becomes more open, its dependence on Hong Kong has gradually decreased, resulting in a period of stable economic growth which has led to limited pay rise in Hong Kong over the recent 10 years. This, coupled with the large number of students with high educational qualifications entering the workforce each year, has made it difficult for young people to find jobs of their ideal under fierce competitions. University graduates and young people in general will invariably feel perplexed by uncertainties of their future and the lack of upward mobility opportunities in Hong Kong. Since young people's resentment against our society has been exposed by the recent Occupy movement, it is now time for the Government to reflect on the aspirations of young people for "a country can only thrive when young people thrive and is only strong when young people are strong", and as the future of Hong Kong is involved, the Government should formulate relevant education policies which will give young people confidence in their future.

Some people suggest that the problem of upward mobility for young people can be resolved by increasing the number of higher education places and enhancing the educational qualifications of Hong Kong young people, but I do not think that the problem is as simple as what we have imagined. For example, Mainland universities have greatly increased the number of university places in response to the aspirations of various sectors in recent years. Despite the increase in the number of university students, employers do not need such a large number of inexperienced university graduates, many of whom are unwilling to start from the bottom due to their higher academic qualifications, thus rendering students being unemployed as soon as they have graduated. The same situation also appears in Hong Kong. Associate degree (AD) programmes were introduced back at the time when the Government failed to solve the problem of insufficient university places for students who were not admitted to universities. However, it has been proved that AD places can only temporarily alleviate the problem of further education. The qualifications of such students are not recognized by employers and it is virtually impossible for AD graduates to find suitable jobs and practise what they have learned, and their confidence in upward mobility has been undermined. 

President, the unemployment rate of Hong Kong is so low that it is close to full employment and many industries are faced with difficulties in recruitment. Tourism related industries, such as retailing, hotel, catering, transportation and tourist agency are similarly faced with the problem of staff shortage. Young people's unwillingness to join such industries has stemmed from their lack of understanding and inability to recognize the prospects of such industries, and they feel that their future is uncertain because they are worried that they will choose the wrong profession and cannot find positions which they like. I strongly agree with Mr Michael TIEN's amendment proposal that in order to increase upward mobility opportunities for young people, relevant policies should be formulated to assist students who are unable to adapt to the conventional examination system.

As the saying goes, "There are outstanding masters in every trade." The absence of a university qualification is not equivalent to a poor future, and the key is to success is to make preparations in advance by understanding one's own interest and identifying ways for future development in consultation with their families. In fact, students who are not confident about getting into universities can consider choosing vocational colleges where career opportunities for graduates may not be worse than that of university graduates. For example, the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute (the Institute) sponsored by the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council is known to members of the industry as the "Shaolin Temple" (a metaphor to mean a strenuous training venue) of the Hong Kong catering industry, which produces 1 200 graduates each year. Its graduates, the demand for whom has exceeded its supply, have been much sought after by employers. The starting salary for such graduates is comparable to that of university graduates, at more than $10,000, and the salary for hotel executive chefs can be as high as over $1 million a year. Though the hotel and catering industries offer a large number of employment and promotion opportunities, they are still faced with the problem of serious shortage of professionally skilled manpower. In addition to the problem of acute shortage of school places at similar institutes, parents and young people are also unaware of the prospects of such industries. Young people who are armed with the skills of a particular trade can still enjoy rather good prospects.

I propose that the authorities should further improve and enhance vocational education with reference to the main stream industries of Hong Kong, so as to provide more choices in professional training to young people with different interests so that they can lay a good foundation and increase opportunities for upward mobility. The "dual track" education system of Germany is worth our reference. Under the mode of "dual track system", secondary school students in Germany are required to make course selections and decide whether they would like to participate in vocational training at the age of 15 or 16. If they have decided to undergo vocational training, they will leave ordinary secondary schools for vocational training institutes and choose to receive training in areas such as nursing, finance, arts and crafts, design and catering. Young people attending vocational training institutes will learn theoretical knowledge while working as interns at various enterprises. In 2011, over 1.4 million students, which comprised around 60% of the secondary and university students of Germany, took part in vocational education training. This mode of training enables students to practise what they have learned and their employers to enjoy immediate benefits.

President, as a result of the Hong Kong Government's planning deficiencies, parents in general are biased towards vocational training institutes and see such institutes as inferior with poor prospects. In fact, in addition to academic qualifications, Hong Kong enterprises attach more importance to the relevant professional experiences and knowledge possessed by the candidates in the selection process. Students who received professional vocational education are even more welcomed than university students who do not have relevant experiences. I hope that in reviewing its education policy, the authorities can make references to the education model of Germany to enhance the professional qualifications of different industries and look into the recognition of such qualifications by the Government and enterprises, so as to increase young people's confidence in future upward mobility through different channels of learning.

President, I so submit.