Home > Press Releases > 2008 and Before > The Ceremony to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the Employees Retraining Board and for presentation of the 12th "Employers Gold Star Award" and "Outstanding Retrainees Award"

The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) today (28 January 2008) organized the ceremony to commemorate its 15th Anniversary and for presentation of the 12th "Employers Gold Star Award" and "Outstanding Retrainees Award" at Tseung Kwan O TVB city. Officiated by Acting Chief Executive Mr Henry TANG, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Mr Matthew CHEUNG, Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare Mr Paul TANG and the Board Chairman Mr Michael TIEN, the ceremony was also joined by the Vice Chairman and Members, together with over 600 guests from various sectors.

"Over the past 15 years, Hong Kong has walked through ups and downs, while the ERB has always been standing shoulder to shoulder with all citizens to overcome hurdles all the way," the Board Chairman Mr. Tien Puk-sun said in the Ceremony, "Up till now, over 1.1 million retrainees had completed their trainings, which makes the total number of retrainees in headcounts exceeding 540 thousand, implying that 15% of the labour force had attended our courses."

Mr. Tien remarked that the 15th Anniversary of ERB not only witnessed the effort and achievement of all stakeholders, but also unveiled a new start for the ERB's further development. Taking the opportunity of economic recovery thus a decreasing unemployment rate, the ERB has reviewed its current orientation and strategy with an aim to optimize and diversify its services. At the same time, "sustainability" would also be a core element of the new moves which aim to enhance the ERB's contribution to Hong Kong's labour market.

Taking the opportunity of its 15th anniversary, the ERB would combine the commemorative function and the "Employers Gold Star Award" cum "Outstanding Retrainees Award" into a festive event as a whole.

The "Employers Gold Star Award" cum "Outstanding Retrainees Award" was launched in 1995 for the first time for commending employers and retrainess who were active players and had contributed to the success of the Employees Retraining Scheme (ERS). This year, 60 organizations was nominated for the "Employers Gold Star Award", of which 3 organizations won the Platinum Award, 14 the Gold Star Award, and 16 the Certificate of Outstanding Performance. All the winning organizations had actively participated in the ERS by employing retrainees, promoting the ERS to the public, relaxing job entry requirements for retrainees and so on.

For the Outstanding Retrainees Award, 74 retrainees were nominated. 11 individuals received the Outstanding Retrainees Award and other 13 with merits. The Award not only demonstrated recognition of retrainees' performance by employers, it also honoured their positive attitude towards life and their courage in overcoming difficulties.

This year, the Strategic Partners Award was newly introduced to recognize the contributions and support of organizations to ERS in the development and promotion of new courses and services. The ERB hopes to join hand with more organizations to enable inception of more innovative ideas to further widen and diversify the employment opportunities for the unemployed.

On the occasion of 15th anniversary, the ERB added the "15th Anniversary Retraining Achievement Award" and the "15th Anniversary Distinct Retrainees Award". Since its commencement till the end of December 2007, the first 10 training bodies who have the most graduate retrainees in placement-tied courses were awarded "15th Anniversary Retraining Achievement Award" as a commendation to their active support to the ERS as well as their effort in helping the unemployed to return to job market. As for the "15th Anniversary Distinct Retrainees Award", the 3 winners were picked from the past winners of "Outstanding Retrainees Award" or "Sir Edward Youde Memorial Awards for Self-improvement for Working Adults", who excel at their career path or personal development. Their dedication to thrive would be a model to encourage people who are confronted with difficulties in their career.

Please refer to attachment A and the booklet of the 12th "Employers Gold Star Award" and "Outstanding Retrainees Award" for the list of winners. The booklet is also uploaded to ERB's website (in Chinese only).

For enquiries or press interview with awardees, please contact the Communications and External Affairs Department of the ERB.

Issued by:    Employees Retraining Board

Date:           28 January, 2008

Enquiries:     Communications and External Affairs Department

Telephone:   3129 1345