Multimedia Publicity

In the 21st Century, the employment market has become more and more competitive. The recruitment drive takes place in both the virtual and non-virtual worlds. New generations are anxious to acquire more information about jobs that they are seeking through various means and like to share it with their peers. Our recruitment drive starts well before the traditional channels of advertisements through newspapers and Government websites. And it starts with a human touch. This year, our booths at career exhibitions at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University kicked off our recruitment drive in March 2011, offering opportunities to undergraduates to raise questions directly to EOs manning the booths. We attracted more than 600 visitors to our booths asking various questions about our Grade, recruitment procedures and career and training prospects.

The pace of our recruitment drive never slows. In September 2011, a series of career talks were given at 13 local universities/tertiary institutes by our GGO colleagues, sometimes with new recruits from the respective universities/tertiary institutes sharing their experience in joining the Grade. These annual career talks provide a forum for potential recruits to better get to know our Grade and share the personal experience of their alumni. How popular were these talks? After each talk, our speakers and colleagues were usually mobbed by groups of enthusiastic students with detailed questions and inquiries.

	Career exhibition at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The drive also continues in cyberspace. If you read the last issue of Keep in Touch, you could not have missed the latest videos on the work of EOs at the “Career Kaleidoscope” section of the Government Youth Portal at: www.youth.gov.hk/tc/kaleidoscope/. These videos give young job seekers a better idea about the job interview and work prospects at EO Grade.

All-round Training Opportunities

Mere bread and butter are simply not enough for today’s younger generations. They expect more than that and want to spend their time in meaningful and useful ways. When they look for a job, they want structured training and career development planned throughout their career. Let’s see what is available for EOs.

Before reporting for duty, new recruits are invited to join a briefing session in order to gain a more thorough understanding of the work of an EO, which will be challenging, but full of meaningful rewards. From this moment, they start to develop a network with their batch mates, who together with their colleagues will be their working partners throughout their career. They will then join the five-day Induction Course. During this week, they will become familiar with all the basics of being an EO. In the ensuing 24 months, new recruits will undergo the Basic Training Programme, which will equip them with the basic knowledge and skills required to perform their duties effectively. Upon confirmation to the rank of EOI, they embark upon a series of Management Development Training courses to enhance their management skills in various fronts.

At different stages of their career, EOs are able to avail themselves of many other training opportunities. Numerous job-related courses aside, they may also be sponsored for their private studies towards acquiring higher educational qualifications in relevant fields. Senior grade members will attend structured national studies programmes in renowned universities and government organisations in the Mainland such as the Chinese Academy of Governance and China Foreign Affairs University to deepen their understanding of national development and affairs. Those with potential for advancement to the Directorate ranks would be offered overseas training opportunities to sharpen their management skills and widen their exposure.

On this front, training also continues in the cyberspace. Our Executive Grade Resource and Information Network (EGRIN) is a website dedicated to the sharing of information and resources among EOs and the dissemination of news from GGO. Revamped in October 2011, the website provides useful links to work-related information in various aspects of our work, and information and statistics pertaining to the Grade. What’s more, fellow EOs of the same work category can easily be searched such that close ties can be cemented with each other.

Structured Career Development

Career postings at regular intervals are crucial to the development of EOs, in particular junior EOs, to enable them to gain exposure to a wide range of jobs, build up their experience and confidence and enhance their flexibility and versatility. Career postings are normally arranged for junior EOs at the intervals of two to three years and new recruits are required to change posting during their first three years’ service.

In order to give more attention to individual EOs’ career development needs and assist them in identifying their potential and developing their career, we have in place a Career Development Management scheme. In this respect, respective Career Development Managers pay regular visits to EOs on a one-on-one basis at their workplace to discuss issues of their career interest. More frequent visits are made to junior EOs during their first three years’ service.

Strong Networking

On another front, the needs of the members of new generations for networking, virtual or non-virtual, are also on the agenda. On top of the network established with their batch mates since their briefing session and Induction Course, new EOs also benefit from the Mentor Scheme, EGRIN, and EO gatherings in their bureaux/departments. The sky is the limit if we want to connect with each other these days.

The Mentor Scheme offers new EOs on-the-job advice and training that provides a smooth and positive introduction to their new career. Since its re-launch in 2007, more than 477 officers in the substantive ranks of EOI to SPEO have volunteered to serve as mentors, tapping a rich pool of resources to support 985 mentees. Readers can go to the previous issue No. 172 for more details on the Mentor Scheme.

To keep in pace with our ever-changing world, the Grade has adopted new strategies to attract new, young talents into our big family. After the new recruits have commenced their journey with the Government, what do they think about our Grade? In the following interviews (reported in Chinese), some of them share with us their experiences since joining the EO family and their views on EO as a career.

	DGG sharing his experience with new recruits.