The inaugural edition of the “Fly Your Dream” Youth Career Development Internship Program (Hong Kong) bore fruit as its completion ceremony rallied support from youth affairs authorities, youth organizations, and business enterprises in a bid to step up cooperation in broadening the career development perspectives for Hong Kong youths.
Held last Friday, the ceremony witnessed the commendation for interns and the official formation of the Hong Kong Youth Internship and Career Development Alliance, previously conceived by a dozen leading companies that had offered summer internship placements in the city and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Among them are the Hong Kong Financial Services Institute, Hong Kong China Education Fund, China Resources, Hong Kong Literature, CM Youth Federation, China Telecommunications Corporation, and Everbright Securities International.
With the Hong Kong Island Youth United Association, GBA Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Foundation, and Hong Kong Students’ Union taking the helm, the internship program also gleaned support from Hong Kong Youth Association, Hong Kong-Hubei Youth Exchange Promotion Association, and Sun Kong Tai International Cultural Exchange Co, Limited.
Tapping into coordination of different sectors, the initiative set about assisting young Hong Kongers, especially university students, in winning more internship opportunities, scaling their career ladder, and realizing their life aspirations amid a looming employment headwind exacerbated by economic uncertainty, educational mismatches, and disruptive technology.
“What the internship program provides to the students are opportunities to learn about the actual operations of varied industries, accumulate their work experience, and grasp a fuller picture of their life-planning paths,” said Harry Lin, founder of GBA Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Foundation.
The initiative gained official acknowledgment as it went in tandem with the central and local governments’ long-standing resolve to clear the hurdles faced by young people seeking better career prospects.
In a video address at the ceremony, Cheong Man Lei, JP, Hong Kong’s undersecretary for innovation, technology and industry, applauded the program as an excellent example of enhancing resource integration to provide young Hong Kong people with a greater range of quality internships and job openings, which marries up with the nation’s workforce development strategy outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Cheong also suggested that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau will continue to partner with the Education Bureau to strengthen and improve relevant policies, so as to harness the role of technological innovation and talent development in boosting the real economy and the city’s competitive edge in emerging industries.
The alliance’s extensive vision, which encompasses the GBA and potentially other mainland regions as well, was also highlighted by many for assisting Hong Kong youths’ integration into the nation’s overall development.
“Strengthening youth’s sense of national awareness and national identity are pivotal principles laid out in the 2022 Youth Development Blueprint,” said Chan Sui Wai, JP, the commissioner of Home and Youth Affairs Bureau.
“We hope key national strategies such as the GBA development can help more Hong Kong youngsters explore their future pursuits while keeping them abreast of the nation’s latest developments.”
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
