People who work unsociable hours are to be targeted in a $50 million programme to improve parenting skills. Over the next three years social workers hope to contact 300,000 parents who have jobs such as taxi-driving, sales and in restaurants. The money was earmarked by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in his Policy Address last October. 'It's always most difficult to reach out to parents who work long hours and have no interest in talking about their kids,' Director for Education Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said. 'Some single parents are also less willing to open up. Instead of having them coming to us, we will go to them. 'And we will mobilise active single parents to talk to the less active ones because they share something in common.' Companies can apply for up to $5,000 to organise parenting education programmes, schools are eligible for $8,000 and community organisations $20,000. Firms are encouraged to set aside time to allow staff to attend the seminars on parent education. The chairman of Clementi Secondary School's Parents and Teachers' Association, Leung Chung-wan, suggested employers allow two days of paid leave for parents attending family education programmes. Meanwhile, 11 uniform groups, like the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, plus community centres will be allocated $30 million out of $43 million for the promotion of such groups. The other $13 million will fund a 40-hour course to train about 4,100 new group leaders.