The Labour Department has launched the Re-employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged to help job-seekers secure sustainable employment through targeted employment assistance and on-the-job training.

The programme aims to encourage employers to recruit middle-aged unemployed people and provide on-the-job training for them. About 12,000 job-seekers are expected to benefit. All job-seekers who are aged 40 or above and have been unemployed for three months are eligible to join.

The department will provide tailor-made employment assistance and job-referral service to participating job-seekers. Employers offering vacancies and on-the-job training will be given training allowances.

Employers who engage programme participants in full-time permanent jobs and offer three months on-the-job training to equip them with the necessary job-specific skills will be given a training allowance of $1,500 per month for up to three months for each participant upon completion of the training.

To ensure that appropriate jobs and training are provided to participants, employers applying for on-the-job training allowance are required to:

* offer full-time, permanent jobs and salaries not lower than the market rate;

* formulate on-the-job training plans and offer training in the first three months of employment;

* assign experienced staff as mentors of participants;

* hold a valid Business Registration Certificate.

The department will vet the relevant information or visit the employers and participants to understand their work and training.

Interested job-seekers may register in person at any of the department's job centres. Employers can register their vacancies in the department's vacancy order form and indicate a preference for employing programme participants on the form. The department will provide one-stop job referral service and help employers find suitable candidates.