Letters | As coronavirus hits the job market, Hong Kong’s new graduates need better support

It is discouraging to learn that fresh university graduates face a gloomy prospect in their job search this year, especially when the economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak (“Time to rally round youngsters facing jobs challenge”, June 3).

The economic recession, worsened by the coronavirus outbreak, is in a way an acid test for the success of career and life planning education. In 2014, the Hong Kong government introduced a recurrent cash grant to foster development in this area at secondary schools. Since then, schools and NGOs have availed of the financial resources under the Career and Life Planning Grant to organise activities and raise awareness.

The current batch of fresh university graduates should have benefited from the grant scheme and widened their scope, from just focusing on one geographical and occupational area to embracing job opportunities wherever they are available. It is therefore time for the authorities to conduct a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

However, planning is not enough to get youngsters employed. The government has a vital role to play in increasing job opportunities for those leaving university. It can, for example, take the lead in creating non-civil-servant posts for recent university graduates. The administration should also roll out a university graduate scheme, similar to the Employment Support Scheme, and give incentives to the private sector for injecting new blood into companies.