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A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups found that pessimism was widespread among Form Five graduates, with 55 per cent of them feeling pessimistic or uncertain about their employment prospects. More than 60 per cent of graduates noted that their lack of work experience was biggest weakness in job-hunting, followed by poor educational attainments and their young age.
Half of the graduates, however, said thatt hey would only consider jobs that offered $6,000 or above per month.
The three most popular occupations for graduates were as clerical workers, office assistants, or within the computer industry. Slightly more than 10 per cent of graduates would consider being photographic models, Karaok bar singers or investment agents, usually as high-risk jobs. A few young graduates even considered selling pirated CDs and VCDs, an illegal activity.
This gloomy outlook is understandable in that young graduates generally did not think of themselves as competitive in the jobmarket. On average, they gave themselves 7.1 points out of 10 for their performance forgetting along with different people and 6.8 points for Chinese writing and reading skills respectively. Young graduates gave themselves low marks for English reading and writing skills, oral English speaking skills, computer application skills and Putonghua speaking skills. Each category rated 5.5 points or lower.
Although more than 90 per cent of graduates were free from contributing financially to their families at this stage, more than 60 per cent of them would consider taking temporary jobs as alternatives if not qualified for further study. Only around one-third of the respondents expressed an interest to participate in the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme.
When asked who should be blamed for the high unemployment rate among the youth, around 30 per cent of graduates attributed the problem to economic restructuring in the territory. Another 23 per cent of young graduates blamed themselves for causing the problem.
This telephone survey was conducted from20 to 21 July 1999. A total of 531 secondary school leavers were successfully interviewed. The survey noticed that Form Five graduates had a very strong desire to continue studies after graduation, with more than 80 per cent of graduates pursuing this goal. Another 70per cent wanted to complete a university degree.
The senior research officer of the Federation, Jacky Pang, said that the percentage of Form Five graduates willing to accept jobs offering $6,000 or above per month had dropped from around 70 per cent last year toa round 50 per cent this year. The findings suggested that young graduates this year hadl ess optimistic expectations regarding their salaries.
Pang went on to say that young graduates had a strong desire to continue their studies. Such a high response might be due to the current economic downturn, as well as the high unemployment rate, by which young graduates were scared away from job-hunting. This also might have factored in their decision to stay on campus, to increase their knowledge and learn new skills
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Youth Opinion Polls No. 69b
