Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung today attended a sharing session on the 2023 Internship Programme for Non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) Students, where she learned about their experiences and takeaways from the programme.

Mrs Yeung said she was pleased to learn that the students had found the programme unforgettable. She added that the Government attaches great importance to youth training and development, and that it has provided working and learning opportunities to students from varying backgrounds with a view to encouraging those with aspirations to serve the community to do so by joining the civil service.

Mrs Yeung also encouraged the students to study hard to better equip themselves for their future careers.

One of the participants, Ashok Aswany, is studying business administration at university and will soon finish her internship in the Environment & Ecology Bureau’s Community Relations Unit.

The placement involves her assisting in designing activities to promote carbon neutrality at the Wan Chai Environmental Resource Centre, which will be reopened soon, and drafting user guidelines for the Environment & Conservation Fund’s new electronic platform.

She said that while some of her tasks are not easy, she has enjoyed the placement and that it is has given her opportunities to meet different professionals, participate in work meetings and apply what she has learned.

Other placements in the programme have involved providing public services to NEC communities.

Overall, the NEC interns said at the sharing session that their involvement on the programme had been fruitful and that it had enhanced their understanding of the Government's support services for NEC communities.

The Civil Service Bureau first ran the Internship Programme for NEC Students in 2019, with a view to helping young NECs accumulate work experience and enhance their competitiveness when it comes to employment. So far, over 140 NEC students have taken part in the programme.

Starting from this year, the bureau has provided NEC interns with basic workplace Chinese language training, including lessons in official writing, to enhance their awareness of and interest in learning Chinese.

NEC interns are also encouraged to enhance their career development prospects by continuing to strengthen their competency in Chinese through accessing other community resources once their internships have finished.