Chairman's Message

Established in 1992, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) is stepping into its 15th anniversary. Over the years, we have been organizing market-oriented retraining courses and services in a responsive and flexible manner, with over one million training places offered to help ease the problem of unemployment in Hong Kong. Standing shoulder to shoulder with members of the public, we have now prevailed over the economic downturn.

Hong Kong's economy has been improving, yet the problem of unemployment is still bothering us. The Chief Executive has announced in the Policy Address on 10th October 2007 that the Employees Retraining Scheme would be extended to people aged 15 or above and with education attainment of sub-degree or below. The ERB will offer training programmes that are more diversified and geared towards market needs. With a new mindset, the Employees Retraining Board would adopt a more innovative and proactive approach to create new employment opportunities so as to assist the unemployed and those in need to return to the labour market and restart a new chapter of life.

Apart from sustaining and improving the quality of our existing services, ERB would also dedicate our efforts this year to groom the market of "healthcare massage services" and "household services". Capitalizing on our successful marketing experience in furthering the employment for "domestic helpers", "personal care workers" as well as "security and property management workers", we would explore the job market to create and unearth potential employment areas which suit our retrainees. Meanwhile, to further gain the confidence of employers and the recognition of the community at large, and to ensure the quality of our graduates, we would strengthen the quality assurance mechanism by introducing centralized skills assessments for more standardized courses.

The ERB is entering into a new era with the taking on of a greater responsibility for the manpower development of Hong Kong. We embrace the challenge faced by the people of Hong Kong in sustaining employment as ours. With experience consolidated over the past 15 years, we would appraise vigilantly the labour market to map out the future blueprint for the future development of the Employees Retraining Scheme. We would also join hands with employers, employees, training bodies, Government departments as well as other relevant stakeholders with the hope to contribute more significantly to the success of Hong Kong's manpower development and economic growth.