Hong Kong university students’ internships yet another casualty of coronavirus pandemic, survey finds
- The survey found that nearly half of respondents either had their internships cancelled or postponed, or were unable to find one at all
- Meanwhile, the total number of internships on offer on an interuniversity clearing house decreased by 30 per cent
Internship openings listed on a joint system shared by local universities decreased by about 30 per cent this year, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups found, prompting a call for the government to provide funding to allow students to take part in more expensive overseas internship opportunities.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted internships and we have seen a large drop in the number of openings being offered,” said Derek Lee Ka-wai, of the federation’s think tank, Youth IDEAS education group.
Hong Kong’s economy shrunk by 3.4 per cent in the third quarter compared to last year, as key drivers of growth such as tourism and consumption have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Dr Frankie Lam King-sun, the director of Lingnan University’s human resource management and organisational behaviour programme, said companies were already facing difficulties in managing existing manpower, even asking employees to work fewer hours to deal with a shrinking economy.