76% of Hong Kong firms have never hired young people with special needs, survey finds
- But companies say they are open to such hirings and call for more support measures such as internships with social worker support
More than three-quarters of Hong Kong companies have never employed young people with special needs, a survey by a major youth group has found, although firms are open to such hirings and called for more support.
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups revealed on Monday that 76.5 per cent of firms polled said they had never hired youngsters with special education needs, but 74.4 per cent expressed an interest in doing so in the future.
“Those who haven’t hired youth with special needs, around 70 per cent, think they may need a lot of additional time and training effort that is unfamiliar to human resources departments,” said Miranda Wong Ho-yee, a supervisor in partnership and employment at the federation.
She added that another concern was whether the “jobs were good fits for these youth”.
The federation surveyed 102 companies across at least 15 sectors. While 78 had never hired young people with special education needs, 58 of those firms said they would consider recruiting such youth when there was an opportunity.
Special education needs in the survey included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia, as well as speech and language impairments.