Language and Cultural Barriers Still Hindering
Career Prospects of Ethnic Minority Youth
KELY Support Group Comes to Their Aid with
Open Door Placement Programme
[Hong Kong, 10 October 2023] As a Hong Kong-based nonprofit organisation that empowers young people to reach their full potential, KELY Support Group (“KELY”) is proud to announce the successful completion of the first phase of the Open Door Work Placement Programme (“Open Door” or “the Programme”). This initiative, which is sponsored by Prudential Hong Kong, aims to provide young people from ethnic minority (EM) backgrounds with trainings and work placement opportunities, to enhance their employability, so that they can overcome the hurdles brought on by language and cultural barriers in the local Hong Kong society. At the same time, KELY provides support and awareness education for the employers and their staff, as well as follow up with the youth’s progress over their working period.
Insufficient support for EM youths
The unemployment rate for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong is much higher than the general local population. Many small and medium enterprises (SME) in Hong Kong use Chinese as the daily language for communication. Some employers may overlook ethnic minority job seekers due to language barriers when screening resumes. Ethnic minority youth face more challenges in job seeking compared to local youth, and the opportunities available to them are relatively limited.
Miss Cindy Ng, Senior Manager of Programmes and Services of KELY Support Group, said, “Given that the ethnic minority group form around 8% of the population, we want to draw attention to the fact that there is dire need for society to do more for this community. We are dedicated to empowering these young individuals by providing them with the necessary training to boost their confidence in seeking better job prospects. They deserve equal opportunities despite any cultural or language barriers they may face. The Programme aims to address these challenges, as well as educate employers.”
Opening doors for ethnic minorities
The Programme is designed to develop employable skills for EM youth in a real work setting and more guidance on future options. The Programme is provided to upper secondary students and fresh secondary school graduates with ethnic minority backgrounds. Participants receive pre- and post-employment training, and be paired up with companies or organisations for (paid) work placement opportunities for on-the-job training. Through these practices, it is hoped that they will have higher exposure to personal development opportunities, and have a better competitive advantage when they officially join the workforce.
As the sponsor of the Programme, Prudential joint force with its network of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and business partners to offer 10 internship roles for 10 students.
Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs of Prudential Hong Kong, said, “We wholeheartedly support the Open Door Work Placement Programme as we recognise the abundance of talents among these young people. They are valuable assets for small and medium enterprises as well as multinational corporations, especially so during the talent shortage. We are delighted to connect these talented individuals with our clients and partners, providing them with valuable insights and experiences in engaging youth from ethnic minority backgrounds.”
Atteqa, a Pakistani participant, expressed her gratitude for the Programme, stating, “Having this experience is the best opportunity for me to familiarise myself with business-related workplace. This not only allows me to have a higher chance of having a better job, it also provides me with a bunch of skills as I’m new to the workforce. I was very nervous because the business world is not something that I am familiar with, but throughout the internship, the tasks given to me were not as intimidating as I thought. I think there is still discrimination in some parts of this society, but Hong Kong is an international city that welcomes all sorts of talents, so for those who are hardworking and perfectly capable, there is no need to worry.”
Another participant of Open Door, Ramanjot, said, “Sometimes I worry that my academic performance would limit my choices when I start job-seeking. The programme made me realise that how I do in school isn’t the only thing that employers will look at, and I have acquired many new skills in the process. After the internship I can see that my employer is being more open to people from non-Chinese background like me. It makes me very happy because I feel like I am also contributing to this movement.”
Mr. Sam Sio, Founder and Chairman of SME Lab, who was also the supervisor of Atteqa during her work placement at the company, agreed that the Open Door provided the company with an opportunity to work with these talented individuals from diverse backgrounds. The team also expressed openness to welcoming more young people from different backgrounds to join their team. He added, “Atteqa not only brings joy but also diversity and different perspectives to the company. This is very important to our team culture and innovative ability, and promotes cooperation and understanding among team members. In addition, the multilingualism and cultural sensitivity of minority youth can also help us expand the international market and establish better relationships with customers and partners from different cultural backgrounds.”
If media are interested in covering the Programme or EM youth employment in Hong Kong, please contact us. | 
