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There
is no doubt that the priority for youth in the Year
of the Horse is employment. Youth unemployment has risen
above 26% in the past year, while a third of all working
youth aged between 15-19 earn wages so low they are
classified among the "working poor."
Based on the theme, "With the Horse, May Jobs Come",
HKCTU's youth organisers and retraining centre staff
launched several new initiatives to promote youth employment.
Among these was a project to generate self-employment
for young workers during the Lunar Year festivities
(February 12-14). The project involved several youth
getting together to prepare a stall at the "end of year
market" (festival) at Victoria Park.
After planning their stall and designing and making
unique handicrafts and other goods to sell, the young
workers made presentations to other youth attending
the retraining centre courses. During the Lunar New
Year festival they managed the stall themselves. For
the youth involved the aim was not to make money (they
were happy to 'break even'), but to acquire work experience.
One of the most important aspects of this was the experience
of working collectively and sharing responsibility.
This was valuable in developing social interaction among
young workers, as well as building their confidence.
As youth unemployment continues to rise and the prospects
for work - let alone decent work - is extremely limited,
it is important that young workers are still able to
work together, developing their collective capacities
and reinforcing each other's confidence.
The success of this pilot project - which received wide
coverage in popular magazines in Hong Kong - means that
the youth programmes at HKCTU's retraining centres will
continue to expand in the new year.
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