Latest news with #skilledworkers
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Age limit for non-local skilled workers seeking jobs in Hong Kong raised from 35 to 40
The age limit for non-local skilled workers seeking employment in Hong Kong has been raised from 35 to 40 years old, the labour chief has revealed, saying the change was made after extensive consultation and will attract the necessary talent to address the city's manpower shortage in technical fields. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han confirmed the change on a radio show on Friday, adding that details of the new scheme were being finalised and would be released soon. 'Setting it at 40 years old is more ideal. We expect that if they come at 40, they can work until 65, meaning at least 25 years of contribution to Hong Kong's economy,' he said, identifying sectors such as lift maintenance, electrical technicians and enrolled nurses in care homes as key areas for recruitment. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's policy address last October projected a labour shortage of around 180,000 workers across various sectors in the next five years, and he vowed to reform various aspects of the city's talent admission regime, including providing new channels for skilled and experienced workers within specific trades facing 'acute' manpower shortages to come to Hong Kong. The labour chief explained that the initial proposal for a 35-year age limit was revised after extensive consultation, with the new age range of 18 to 40 deemed more effective in attracting suitable technical talent to meet Hong Kong's labour needs. He noted that the global trend of ageing populations meant that the definition of 'young' was also evolving, influencing Hong Kong's approach to talent acquisition.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
This German town wants to lure new residents with free accommodation
Eisenhüttenstadt sits on the river Oder on the Germany-Poland border. (Patrick Pleul / picture alliance via Getty Images via CNN Newsource) A town in eastern Germany is offering two weeks free accommodation to encourage people to relocate there in a bid to boost its population. Eisenhüttenstadt, which sits on the border with Poland around 97 kilometres (60 miles) from the German capital Berlin, is offering a 14-day trial stay for potential new residents, according to a statement from the local council on May 13. 'The project is aimed at anyone interested in moving to Eisenhüttenstadt—such as commuters, those interested in returning to the town, skilled workers, or self-employed individuals seeking a change of scenery,' it said, with applications open until the beginning of July. Selected participants will live for free in a furnished apartment from September 6-20 as part of an 'innovative immigration project' named 'Make Plans Now,' said the council. They 'will have the opportunity to get to know the life, work and community of (Eisenhüttenstadt) in a 14-day living trial — for free and in the middle of the town,' reads the statement. In order to help participants get a feel for the town, the council will lay on a number of activities including a tour, a factory tour and various outings. The council will also encourage participants to stay permanently, with local businesses offering internships, job shadowing and interview opportunities. Founded in 1950, Eisenhüttenstadt, which can be translated as Steel Mill Town, was the first fully planned town built under the socialist government of the former East Germany. Sitting on the banks of the Oder River, socialist planners built the town around a huge steelworks. Previously known as Stalinstadt, or Stalin Town, after former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, it was renamed after East and West Germany reunified following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Like many towns and cities in the former East Germany, it has seen its population decline since reunification, from a peak of more than 50,000 to the current level of around 24,000, local official Julia Basan told local media outlet RBB24. The scheme aims to attract more permanent residents, particularly skilled workers, said Basan. Today, Eisenhüttenstadt is home to the largest integrated steelworks in eastern Germany, which employs 2,500 people, as well as being a hub for metals processing. Many of the socialist-era buildings are listed as historical monuments and the openness of the town's layout is striking, attracting visitors interested in architecture. One recent new arrival said that the architecture was responsible for his decision to move to the town. It was 'a complete coincidence,' the man said in a video posted on the town hall Instagram account. 'We were travelling to Ratzdorf with friends and drove through Karl-Marx-Straße. And I saw these houses, this architecture that completely blew me away and I said to my wife, 'I'm going to move here,'' he said. The man later organized a tour of the town with a local historian to learn more. 'After the tour we were so blown away by this architecture, that was actually the trigger,' he said. Article written by Jack Guy, Stephanie Halasz and Sophie Tanno, CNN
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wiltshire firms welcome job opportunities in building sector
A recruitment drive in the building sector has been welcomed by the Minister of State for Industry. The initiative, led by the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), aims to attract skilled workers to the industry, including in Wiltshire. The Building Materials Careers programme, launched earlier this year, is part of a broader effort to address recruitment challenges in the sector. The initiative is part of a cross-industry collaboration involving more than 1,000 companies in the £51 billion sector. Read more: Swindon Travelodge outrage after 'stained' hotel stay The campaign aims to attract school leavers, trainees, Armed Forces veterans, and career changers to the industry. BMF members have shared their career journeys on the website to showcase the opportunities available in the sector. The website also lists current vacancies in the industry. John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: "Manufacturers, suppliers, and merchants in Wiltshire's building materials sector need to be considered as the lifeblood of the construction industry, and our members are laying the groundwork now for the scale-up required to meet Government targets. "Increased amounts of building materials from bricks and mortar to plasterboard and fixings will be needed by the construction industry if it is to meet the government's pledged 1.5 million homes." The Building Materials Careers programme builds on the success of the BMF's Apprenticeship Pledge, which exceeded its target of securing 15,000 apprenticeship places within the sector by 2030, five years ahead of schedule. Minister of State for Industry, Sarah Jones MP, said: "We are aware of the scale of the skills and workforce challenge in the construction sector and are working to address this across government. "Initiatives such as the 'Make a Material Difference' campaign and the BMF Apprenticeship Pledge are helpful examples of existing industry programmes in this space, given the importance of both attracting new entrants to the sector and retaining them." Read more: Council housing in Swindon doesn't meet legal standards David Young, chief executive at BMF member company Bradfords, which operates across Wiltshire, said: "It is positive to see the Building Materials initiative gaining traction at the highest levels. "It was a no-brainer for Bradfords to be involved." John Carter, chief executive of STARK Building Materials UK Ltd, added: "Being a professional tradesperson takes a high degree of skill that is often misunderstood and overlooked when you consider a completed building project. "The campaign complements the work that STARK UK is doing to promote and support the many opportunities in our sector."
NHK
14-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Skilled foreign workers face problems in Japan
Vietnamese workers in Japan have been sending out SOS calls. All of them came to Japan under a visa category for skilled workers, and many now face serious problems under the current system. More foreign workers are coming to Japan with the visa status called "Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services." Their number has tripled over the past decade to over 400 thousand. The visa covers a variety of professions, including business managers, engineers and interpreters. Applicants must have either a college degree or at least 10 years of work experience. Number of foreign workers with "Engineers/Specialist in humanities/Intl. services" visa Takasago Fluidic Systems, a parts manufacturer in Nagoya City, employs 12 skilled workers from overseas. The company makes various products including valves, pumps, and fluid systems for aerospace, cell culture, and medical fields. Nguyen Dang Dung studied machinery engineering at a university in Vietnam. He is responsible for programming machines to make precision parts for medical equipment and rockets. Nguyen Dang Dung works for a Nagoya parts maker. "There are many things to learn from Japanese technology. It's a rewarding experience," says Nguyen. The company says it also benefits from employing workers like Nguyen. "By hiring people from various countries, we get to learn about overseas markets and use that knowledge to expand our company globally," says Nakano Saki, one of the company's human resources professionals. Nakano Saki, Takasago Fluidic Systems Unpaid wages While the visa system seems to work well for some employees and companies, individual experiences vary. Other Vietnamese workers have been speaking up about the problems they face. A video posted on social media last December reveals some of these issues. A video posted on social media in December 2024 The video shows Vietnamese workers calling on a staff agency to give them their unpaid wages. Some say they were forced to engage in work that did not meet the requirements for residential status. Problems among people hired with this visa category have been increasing, according to the Japan Vietnam Tomoiki Association, a non-profit organization in Tokyo which supports Vietnamese workers. "I've been surprised to have so many young people coming to us who have lost their jobs and need help," says Yoshimizu Jiho, the representative director of the association. Yoshimizu Jiho, Representative Director of Japan Vietnam Tomoiki Association She says job mismatches between the visa requirement and the actual work have also led to problems. One of the organization's clients came to Japan from Vietnam as a skilled worker, after she paid more than 7,000 dollars as a commission fee to a broker. She says the company that hired the client put her to work cleaning restaurants and hotels. She claims it then stopped giving her any assignments at all and she could no longer support herself. "This kind of work has to be done by people who came to Japan under the technical intern training program," Yoshimizu says, not by skilled worker visa holders. She says such situations could be illegal. Yoshimizu also emphasizes the lack of a proper support system for the people with this visa. The category does not require a high level of language ability, and some can't speak any Japanese. Yoshimizu received a text message in Japanese on her cell phone that reads "Please help us." NHK World followed Yoshimizu in March as she visited a 33-year-old Vietnamese man who lost his job and was not paid wages for three months of work. She suggested that he change his visa category to find another job, as he lacks Japanese language skills. But he says he is reluctant to do so. He says the visa for skilled workers allows his wife to stay in Japan with him, while other types of visas would not. A Vietnamese man who lost his job "I can't make a living now. All I need is a job. I will do anything if someone hires me," he says. Yoshimizu says the language barrier is often a source of problems. "I found that many of them can't speak Japanese at all. Some companies end up taking advantage of them, and there's no place within the working visa system to provide the support they need. If something happens, it ends up becoming a major problem," she says. Less oversight One expert says problems among skilled worker visa holders have been rising since the government imposed stricter regulations on its technical trainee program, which is scheduled to get a complete overhaul by 2027. Some companies turned to the skilled worker visa category to fill their jobs. "Some businesses struggling with serious labor shortages are taking advantage of a loophole in the system for skilled workers," says Ikebe Shoichiro, a consultant knowledgeable about employment issues faced by foreigners. Ikebe Shoichiro He says some Vietnamese workers with this visa category paid high commission fees to brokers, only to be assigned jobs different from their area of expertise. "This visa category has been a new option for them to hire people from overseas, which is easier to apply for and has less oversight," Ikebe says. The Japanese Immigration Services Agency has said it is aware of issues such as unpaid salaries and job mismatches. It says it is considering measures such as on-site inspections of businesses suspected of failing to follow the rules. As Japan opens its doors to more foreign workers to help solve its labor shortage, experts say these workers need a safety net. They say the country's current visa system needs more oversight.
Japan Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
JR East to start training foreign nationals under new skills program
East Japan Railway (JR East) will launch training programs in the current fiscal year to March next year for foreign nationals seeking certification as specified skilled workers in railway maintenance. The training follows the addition of the railway sector in March 2024 to the list of eligible industries under Japan's specified skilled worker system, which is designed to secure work-ready personnel from overseas amid acute labor shortages. JR East is also encouraging other railway operators to join the initiative. On March 5, the company conducted trial training sessions for 25 trainees from Indonesia and Vietnam at its large-scale training center in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture. The training, which was open to the media, covered the three areas of rolling stock, tracks and electrical facilities. Participants learned about the mechanisms of train doors using a model and practiced operating an electrical device for switching tracks. The sessions were conducted in Japanese, occasionally involving complex technical terms. "We try to rephrase (technical language) into simpler Japanese as much as possible," one instructor explained. To obtain residency status in Japan as a specified skilled worker, trainees must pass an examination administered by an industry association. The training program, which lasts about four weeks, is designed to prepare participants for the exam. Those who successfully pass are expected to work primarily at partner companies of JR East starting this summer. "Railway services in my country are inconvenient, so I came here to learn and make a difference," Agis Hadi Rahayu, a 26-year-old trainee from Indonesia, said in Japanese. "I want to work as long as possible and become a professional engineer." JR East covers the cost of the training, including travel and accommodation expenses. "We hope to develop this into an open platform that helps secure human resources for the entire railway industry," said Naoyuki Sakaguchi, manager of the company's human resources development unit. JR East aims to train around 100 people each year, and more than 10 railway operators have already expressed interest in joining the initiative, according to Sakaguchi. The inclusion of the railway sector in Japan's specified foreign skilled worker system reflects a growing shortage of track maintenance engineers, a problem that has led to daytime train service suspensions and the rescheduling of last-train departures to allow for maintenance work. According to government estimates, the railway industry is projected to face a labor shortage of about 18,400 workers by fiscal 2028, largely due to difficulties in hiring young people amid the low national birth rate. To help address the shortfall, the industry plans to accept up to 3,800 specified skilled foreign workers. There are two types of residency status for specified skilled foreign workers in Japan: Type 1, which allows stays of up to five years, and Type 2, which has no time limit. Currently, only Type 1 is available for the railway sector. "Many people would be willing to take on the challenge if Type 2 status were available," Sakaguchi said, expressing hope that the railway industry will eventually become eligible for Type 2 to enable long-term employment. Those who complete a mid-level technical internship program are also eligible for certification as specified skilled foreign workers. In November last year, a Vietnamese woman who had worked as a technical intern at Surmit Kogyo, a railway vehicle manufacturer in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, became the first individual to be granted residency status as a specified skilled foreign worker in the railway industry. In the railway sector, specified skilled foreign workers will be welcomed not only for maintenance work and vehicle manufacturing but also for transportation roles such as conductors and drivers. Given a growing shortage of drivers, particularly among local railway operators, non-Japanese drivers with specified skills may take the controls in the future.
