Retraining for the unemployed: an up-hill battle that never ends

Abstract

The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) has a mission to provide quality retraining courses and services to enhance the employability of the unemployed and potentially unemployed. Its main target groups include people aged 30 or above with lower secondary education and low skills. Through an extensive network of Training Bodies, ERB provides free full-time retraining courses for the unemployed and heavily subsidized part-time courses on basic skills for the target groups. Full-time courses are placement-tied. The ERB has achieved a remarkable placement rate of over 70%, as a result of strong supp ort from employers and trade associations, provision of quality multi-skilled training, and a comprehensive range of pre-training and post-training services. The ERB's long-term goal is to establish a competence-based Vocational Qualification Framework for Hong Kong.