I refer to the report by Felix Chan headlined, 'Job help may broaden beyond retraining' (South China Morning Post, September 18).
Hong Kong needs a strategy to fight poverty, instead of taking up a few stand-alone initiatives. The strategy should provide a framework of measures to help different clients in different ways.
We may not need new services, but more or less existing services improved and co-ordinated in a focused and cost-effective manner.
Providing assistance in kind or in cash and creating job opportunities, say, in the subvented sector, will not solve the problem at its root. Except for the disadvantaged, unemployed people or those receiving low incomes should make themselves competitive in the job market and acquire upward mobility. The Government should only play the role of a facilitator.
There are basically four types of clients: those who lack the skills and knowledge to be competitive for jobs or higher pay; those who are discriminated against on the grounds of disabilities, family status, or race; those who have been out of work for a long period, usually welfare recipients; and those who lack the incentive to work and improve their income. A particular client may fall under more than one category, and a combination of measures is necessary:
Empowerment. The Government should reform the education and training/retraining sectors to make them effective and up-to-date. Opportunities for continuous learning should be available. While it is arguable to what extent education should aim to serve what a transforming economy needs, the Government should establish a dynamic relationship between them. For example, there is no point advocating a new economy on the one hand, but limiting information technology training in respect of curriculum and places in universities on the other.
