Lawmakers question training reform and migrant worker access
On.cc · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s government has proposed upgrading the Employees Retraining Board into a Skills Advancement Board in response to changes in the city’s economy, industrial structure and labour market . Labour and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun Yuk-han said the revamped body would keep its mission of serving grassroots local workers while shifting from employment-oriented retraining to a broader skills-based learning ladder for the overall workforce . Under the bill, permanent residents, dependants and one-way permit holders would remain priority service targets, while other Hong Kong residents could be served only when priority needs are met and resources allow, on a user-pays basis . Lawmakers backed the reform direction but raised concerns about whether the original focus on lower-income workers would be diluted and whether migrant workers might use up training resources funded by taxpayers .
Key Points
- The Employees Retraining Board was set up in the 1990s and had mainly focused on grassroots workers and the unemployed .
- Sun said rising education levels in Hong Kong’s labour force and market changes justified expanding from job-focused retraining to cross-position, skills-based training .
- The bill would give the future board more flexibility, including using technical expertise and teaching resources from mainland Greater Bay Area cities when needed .
- It would also empower the body financially to provide other allowances or subsidies aimed at encouraging skills upgrading across the community .
- At a Legislative Council committee meeting, lawmaker Chau Siu-chung questioned the removal of older wording about identifying sectors with high vacancy rates .
Why It Matters
The reform could reshape how public training resources are allocated as Hong Kong tries to adapt its workforce to economic transition . It also puts pressure on the government to prove that broader eligibility will not weaken support for grassroots workers or shift public resources to non-priority groups .