It is getting easier for secondary school students to answer the age-old question, “What do you want to do with your life?” The Education Bureau’s Business-School Partnership Programme allows them to explore their career choices, plan their future and test-drive different jobs through workplace visits and workshops.
Twenty students have signed on to get work experience as hairstylists. They learn how stylists working in salons do not just chat with customers, but develop a good fashion sense and communication skills.
When Secondary 5 student Lee King-ho was asked to wash his classmate’s hair during the activities and accidently made her clothes wet, he admitted that the actual work process was more difficult than he had imagined.
Star power
Secondary 6 student Si Yee-lam learned that stylists have the chance to rub shoulders with celebrities when they attend performances to create hairstyles for artists and dancers – a job perk she had not considered.
Wong Hon Kin, one of the teachers joining the students’ salon visit, realises not all students are interested in becoming hair stylists, but hopes they can gain more insight into the hair design industry.
Salon manager Anthony Cheng says fewer young people are willing to work as hairstylists these days. He is participating in the Business-School Programme hoping such workplace visits will provide students with an introduction to his industry - and encourage some of them to become stylists.
Great debates
Students with a potential interest in law can take part in a moot court competition, in which they first produce a video to describe a legal incident, and then act as judge, barristers and suspects in a mock court setting to learn about trials and verdicts.
The New Territories Rotary Club sponsored the competition. Club president Danny Chau says students can learn what it takes to be a solicitor through the competition, develop debating skills and creative thinking, and gain knowledge of Hong Kong’s legal system.
Secondary 6 student Vivian Ng says after a discussion with a solicitor acting as a tutor for the competition, she was inclined to think differently. "I found there were some loopholes in my presentation, and after talking it over with the solicitor, my logical thinking improved."
Broader perspective
The Business-School Partnership Programme was launched in 2005, to promote better co-operation and closer alliances between the business sector and schools. This learning platform outside the classroom affords students the opportunity to know more about different careers and understand employers’ requirements.
They can also bolster their generic skills, develop a positive attitude towards work, acquire values that enable them to adapt to economic and social changes. It provides a broader world perspective to prepare them for life after graduation.
