Non-ethnic Chinese interns share their learning experience with SCS (with photos)
31.7.2019

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, today (July 31) met, at the Central Government Offices, non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) university students participating in the government internship programme to learn about their internship experience. He encouraged them to be well-prepared for their career development. Mr Law said, "The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) introduced a pilot internship programme within the Government for NEC university students this year. We hope to help young NEC gain work experience and enhance their competitiveness for employment. "NEC are members of the Hong Kong family. The Government is committed to providing a wide range of services to support their integration into the community," he said. "This internship programme is not our only initiative to strengthen support for NEC. In respect of civil service appointment, we strive to provide NEC with equal access to government job opportunities as other applicants. Noting that NEC face a major difficulty in meeting the Chinese language proficiency requirements when applying for government jobs, the CSB completed in early 2018 a comprehensive review on the Chinese language proficiency requirements for all the civil service grades. In ensuring that such requirements are no more than necessary for the performance of the job, we hope to create more opportunities for NEC to seek employment in the Government. We will continue our efforts in this regard." This year, a total of 16 NEC university students were posted to various government departments for an internship lasting about eight weeks. Some placements were relevant to the provision of public services to NEC communities or required knowledge of NEC languages or cultures. This not only gave play to the interns' strengths, the interns were also able to see for themselves the Government's efforts in strengthening support for NEC communities. One of the interns, Miss Kulsoom Bibi, was posted to the Recruitment, Training and Examination Group of the Fire Services Department, where she assisted with recruitment and publicity work. Apart from acquiring hands-on work experience, she was pleased that her suggestions on the design of the department's recruitment webpage were taken on board by the department. She had a fruitful time during the internship and would like to thank her supervisors for placing confidence in her. Another intern, Miss Sumanjit Janday, was posted to the Race Relations Unit of the Home Affairs Department. She took part in various publicity events organised by the department, such as roving exhibitions and talks, where she introduced the culture of NEC and promoted understanding of their social integration. She was also invited to give feedback, from the perspective of a NEC, on the host of programmes and services provided by the unit. She was glad to find out more about the Government's support services for NEC, and to enhance her understanding of the unique culture and history of other ethnic groups through the internship programme. Both Miss Bibi and Miss Janday shared the view that the Government's ongoing review of the Chinese language proficiency requirements for all civil service grades would provide more opportunities for NEC to join the Government to serve the community. Two secondary school students who were participants of the "Be a Government Official for a Day" programme also joined Mr Law in attending the tea gathering.