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CHAMBER PROGRAMMES
October 2001 Issue  Students experience importance of English in the workplace  Companies, schools and students delighted by the results, benefits of the HKGCC/AEMSS Co-operation Pilot Programme By KAREN FUNG
In an effort to help organise the process of placing students into internships, the Chamber joined forces with AEMSS -- which represents 112 English Medium of Instruction (EMI) secondary schools in the public sector -- to launch a pilot programme this summer to promote English usage in the workplace. The programme takes a two-pronged approach: Scheme A involves a senior executive visiting an AEMSS school to speak to students about the company and the importance of English in the workplace. Alternatively, students and their teachers can visit a member company. The scheme started in September and will continue through to the end of this year. Scheme B, which ran from July through August, involved placing students in internships at selected member companies for five-working days during the summer holiday. The goal was to give them hands-on experience using English in the workplace as well as provide them with basic training in a wide range of soft skills.  Pilot Internship Scheme
Emma Ho, HKGCC chief for Human Resources, said six companies, in addition to the Chamber, offered intern placements for 20 secondary school students from eight schools in August.
"Teachers need the support of the community and employers must tell us and the government what they want," she said.Response from companies and students "The 11 students we had were very enthusiastic and keen to learn, and their level of English is high," Erica Chui, Human Resources manager of The Marco Polo Gateway Hotel said."They are smart. For most given tasks, they followed our instructions and always did things right," Miranda Lau, Recruitment
and Employee Relations manager of Fuji Xerox (HK) Ltd, said.
As for the students, many valued the practical experience. Dennis Yiu of St Mark's School was delighted with the experience he gained
working at the New Zealand Trade Development Board. "They are extremely helpful. They taught me computer skills and others taught me office survival skills. I would drill my telephone handling skills -- in English of course -- at home every night before going to bed to make sure I'd be okay in the office," he said.During the internship weeks, Ms Ho and HKGCC Assistant Manager for
training, Karen Fung, visited each of the participating companies to meet with students as
well as "We wanted to collect ideas and comments from all parties to see where the programme could be improved upon," Ms Ho said.Grace Yuen, human resources specialist at Hongkong Land Ltd, said she was very impressed by the quality of the pilot programme, the speed at which the Chamber was able to organise the programme and the quality of students. The Marco Polo Gateway, and the Trade Commission of Flanders, Belgium, were equally upbeat. "If the programme continues, we will certainly want to participate next year. For us it was definitely a positive experience," Tonia Van de Vyver, Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Belgium, said.The seven participating companies and organisations were: HKGCC, Fuji Xerox (Hong Kong) Limited, Hongkong Land Limited, The Marco Polo Gateway Hotel, New Zealand Trade Development Board, Parks Supplies Co Ltd, and Trade Commission of Flanders, Consulate General of Belgium. If you would like to participate in the programme next year or would like more information, contact Karen Fung at 2823 1240, or email, kfung@chamber.org.hk |
"Though
many companies in Hong Kong provide internship programmes, they are mainly for university
students. It is not easy for secondary students to obtain such training opportunities. The
pilot programme will steer the future direction of the scheme which aims to promote the
use of English in the workplace among the younger generation,"
AEMSS
Chairperson Rosalind Chan said she is pleased that the HKGCC has taken such an active role
in promoting and publicising the importance of English in the workplace, because it is
vital that education is not left just to the teachers.
participating in the programme has
been very positive, with companies being generally impressed by the quality of the
students in terms of their language skills and attitude. 
their
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