INSIDE the classroom in Choi Hung, 20 out of 21 students are middle-aged housewives. The women's educational background ranges from primary school to Form Five but they are all learning Chinese word processing to help them get back to work.
So Wai-sze, a Form Five graduate, has been married for 16 years. Her two daughters are 14 and nine and she has been out of the workforce for nearly 13 years, bringing up her children and looking after the family home.
Now she wants to go back to work and, while her children are in school, she attends computer classes provided by the Government's Employees Retraining Board.
''It's boring and a waste of time staying at home with nothing to do,'' Ms So said.
Before she married, she worked as a clerk for two years. But office work today is not like it was 13 years ago, when Ms So never had to touch a computer. Now she is learning typing, Chinese and English word processing to keep in step with the hi-tech office.
''Sometimes I am still afraid that I might not be able to cope with my job once I start working,'' Ms So said.