Skip to main content

Apr exports value down 13%

The value of Hong Kong's total exports decreased to $338.3 billion in April, down 13% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods decreased 11.9% to $374.9 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $36.6 billion, or 9.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in April.   Comparing the three-month period ending April with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 15.4%, while that of imports increased 10.7%.   The Government noted that the value of merchandise exports declined further from a year earlier in April. Exports to the Mainland, the US and the European Union all shrank and exports to other major Asian markets recorded decreases of varying degrees.   Looking ahead, it added that the weakness in the advanced economies will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance, though the expected faster recovery of the Mainland economy should

Polishing skills for better prospects

Like many young people looking to join the workforce, Lemon Lam, 23, has had trouble forging his career path in the current economic environment that has been battered by the COVID-19 epidemic.   Despite having a Higher Diploma in Computer & Electronic Engineering, he has only been able to land part-time stints in sales.   Hoping to find a new career direction, he joined the Employees Retraining Board’s Certificate in Youth Inspiration Training course.   Run by a training body appointed by the Employees Retraining Board, the programme helps young people become more marketable during these challenging times.   Mr Lam said that the course has pumped himself up.   “I was not able to clearly talk about my strengths during job interviews. When a prospective employer asked how I could contribute to their company, I did not know how to answer and I lost the opportunity.”   He explained that his communication skills have improved and he is now better equipped to pursue his dream job.   “I have learnt how to deal with job interviews and my communication skills have improved. In the future, if I am asked about my strengths, I will know how to respond. I am more confident now.”   Attractive content The training course teaches trainees leadership, problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills.   One of the course’s instructors has even devised a creative way to enhance trainees’ employment outlook by giving them a Korean-style makeover for their headshots.   Instructor Wayne Tsang said: “A good headshot in your resume shows employers that you actually care about your presentation and leaves a good impression.”   To make the course even more attractive to youths, it provides training on offbeat topics.   For example, it offers them a window into Japanese and Korean culture and boosts their short film production and webcasting abilities.   Trainee Mavis Chau said the course has inspired her to learn more about Japanese and short film production.   “I initially thought I would take the course’s elective module to only learn Japanese, but later I found I was able to discover new things about the country’s food and culture.”   Ms Chau, a secondary school graduate who has struggled to pin down full-time work, said she is determined to study Japanese and start making short films for her online broadcasts.   Strong support The training course extends employment counselling for trainees and offers follow-up services to the programme’s graduates.   “The key feature of this programme is that we will provide additional support and counselling to every individual trainee through registered social workers,” Employees Retraining Board Senior Manager (Course Development) CK Lam said.   “The social workers will help them enrich and polish their CVs according to their backgrounds, such as strengths or past experiences in extracurricular activities.”   Held under the Employees Retraining Board’s Love Upgrading Special Scheme 3, the course is open to people aged between 15 and 24, free of charge, with allowances for eligible trainees.   Visit the course’s website for more details.
http://dlvr.it/Rv7ctZ

Popular posts from this blog

Legal officer changes proposed

The Government has proposed to amend the law to allow legal officers of the Department of Justice to be appointed as a senior counsel.   At a media session after attending a Legislative Council meeting today, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng explained the rationale behind the Government's proposal.   She said: “Why is it that my colleagues in the Department of Justice - who by their qualifications are solicitors but are actually arguing very well and very efficiently with great eloquence and efficacy in the Court of Final Appeal - are not being recognised when they are actually even better than their counterparts? That has always been something that sometimes troubles me.   “And for that reason, I have always been thinking about how we are going to overcome that problem.   “Now, what really triggers my determination to take this further forward is when one of our Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions, Vinci Lam, took silk on May 29.   “That really showed that the form
Read more

124 COVID-19 cases reported

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating 124 additional COVID-19 cases. More cases were detected in Kwai Chung Estate. There are also more than 70 preliminary positive cases.   Among the newly reported cases, 33 are related to Kwai Chung Estate, bringing the total number of positive and preliminary positive cases in the estate to 276.   One more positive case was found after an earlier confirmed case occurred at Glory Court, Tsuen Wan Garden, both of them live in units 5 but on two different floors. The centre has co-ordinated with related government departments and conducted an inspection today.    It was preliminarily considered that vertical transmission of virus via pipes is involved.   The centre will issue quarantine orders to residents of unit 5 on all floors of the building who resided there during the incubation period of the relevant cases and transfer them to a quarantine facility.   As it is possible that virus might be ejected from the open
Read more

Govt explains vaccine surplus plan

The Government said it will discuss with the drug manufacturers on how to handle the expected surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses concerning this year's COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.   It made the statement in response to a media report which claimed that Hong Kong will throw away millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses due to low vaccination rate.   The Government noted that as at May 24, out of the two million odd doses each of the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccine which have arrived in Hong Kong, there are 1.05 million and 840,000 unused doses.   It pointed out that the BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored in an ultra-low temperature setting and the vaccines have a relatively short expiry date from the date of manufacture which is around three to four months after arrival in Hong Kong. The vaccines now in storage will expire in mid-August.   The Government observed that the public's demand for the BioNTech vaccine has gradually become sluggish recently.   Compared with the daily
Read more