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Home > Press Releases > 2017 > ERB 25th Anniversary Opening Ceremony cum the 9th ERB “Manpower Development Scheme” Award Presentation Ceremony

ERB 25th Anniversary Opening Ceremony cum the 9th ERB “Manpower Development Scheme” Award Presentation Ceremony

Over 100 awards were presented and  the “ERB Trainee Skills Contest and Service Day” was held concurrently


The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) organised the ERB 25th Anniversary Opening Ceremony cum the 9th ERB “Manpower Development Scheme” Award Presentation Ceremony today (11 March 2017) at the MacPherson Playground in Mongkok.  The officiating guests were the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr. Stephen Sui Wai-keung, JP, the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Miss Annie Tam Kam-lan, GBS, JP, the Chairman of the ERB, Mr. William Leung Wing-cheung, SBS, JP, the Vice-chairman of the ERB, Mr. Yu Pang-chun, SBS, JP and the Executive Director of the ERB, Mr. Stanley Ng Ka-kwong, BBS.  The event was attended by around 350 guests.

Addressing the ceremony, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr. Stephen Sui, paid tribute to the ERB for its invaluable contribution in assisting the general public and those with special needs to acquire value-added job skills and develop their careers.  In view of Hong Kong’s ageing population and the shrinking workforce, the ERB plays an important support role in unleashing the potential of our population in joining the workforce.  He welcomed the ERB’s effort in launching innovative courses and services to improve the quality and employability of the labour force and motivate people to join the labour market.

The ERB Chairman Mr. William Leung said in his opening address that the ERB has provided altogether some 2.3 million training places since its establishment in 1992.  Its service targets now comprise 2.5 million Hong Kong people.  Over the past 25 years, the ERB has all along been dedicated to the implementation of new initiatives.  In recent years, the ERB has launched a series of new courses and training schemes, including the “Squad 3S Programme”, “Foundation Certificate in Pork Butcher Training”, “Fitness Coach Training” course series, “Foundation Certificate in Workplace Re-entry” course series, “First-hire-then-train” pilot programme, and “Modular Certificates Accumulation Scheme”, to cater for the diverse background and needs of its service targets.  The “Smart Starter” part-time job referral platform set up  in 2016, working in conjunction with the “ERB Service Centres” and “ERB Service Spots”, constitutes a comprehensive and effective district-based support network.  The ERB has also considerably widened its information channels.  Social media and online platforms are more actively used to communicate and interact with the public, and this has motivated more people to pursue learning and enrol in ERB training courses.

Mr. William Leung said that the Opening Ceremony marked the moving into the 25th Anniversary of the ERB.  Adopting “infinity” as the design concept, The unveiled ERB 25th Anniversary logo adopts “infinity” as the design concept and comes with vibrant colors.  It symbolises the commitment of the ERB in offering diversified training courses and services over the past 25 years with the objective of unleashing the potentials of the general public.  A series of promotional activities have been planned to commemorate the special occasion.  The “We Love Upgrading Scheme” will be launched in July 2017 to allow eligible people to enrol in the half-day or evening courses of the ERB free of charge.  In August and September 2017, the ERB will organise its “ERB Trainees Service Days” during which trainees will provide complimentary massage and hair-cut services to social groups with special needs.  These activities will be promulgated through the ERB 25th Anniversary website and the “My ERB” Facebook Fan Page in due course.

The ERB “Manpower Development Scheme” Award Presentation Ceremony has moved into its ninth year.  Altogether 103 awards have been presented to employers, trainees, instructors and training bodies to acknowledge their invaluable contributions to the ERB “Manpower Development Scheme”.  As for trainee awards, a total of 19 trainees including mature adults, middle-aged women, young people, new arrivals and a rehabilitated person are awarded the “ERB Outstanding Award for Trainees” or the “ERB Merit Award for Trainees” as a result of their commendable work performance. 

This year, a total of 40 establishments receive the employer awards.  These winning establishments have been outstanding in offering employment opportunities for ERB trainees, providing on-the-job training and career development opportunities for new recruits, investing in continuous learning, assisting in the promotion of ERB courses and services, advocating corporate social responsibilities, and helping the underprivileged to land on jobs.

The ERB organised the “ERB Trainee Skills Contest and Service Day” together with the Presentation Ceremony.  ERB trainees demonstrated their vocational skills acquired from different training courses in offering about 30 free services to social groups with special needs and members of the public.  These services included coffee and milk tea brewing, pastry making, hair-cut, massage, makeup, manicure, photo-taking and blood pressure measuring. Twenty-three social services organisations arranged some 1,000 people to receive the free services, including persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, elderly, new arrivals, single-parents and families on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance.  Six ERB graduates participated in the skills contest to showcase their specialties in coffee making and beauty make-up.  Twenty-four training bodies also provided information on ERB training courses and services and accepted course enrolment on the spot.

Please refer to Chinese version for the award winning lists and background of the Outstanding Trainees.  

Post Date:11/3/2017