Executive Director of Employees Retraining Board Gives Christian Action High Praise

Thirty years ago Hong Kong’s manufacturing sector was shuttering factory after factory and moving production elsewhere. Thousands of factory workers were being laid off with little prospect of finding replacement employment elsewhere. For them it was a real life nightmare of staggering proportions. This is when Christian Action first started using its decades of experience in running retraining programs for refugees from Vietnam, to help Hong Kong’s working class.

To celebrate 30 years of training services our Training Services Division (TSD) held a wonderful corporate lunch at the Royal Plaza Hotel some time ago. We were honoured to have with us Mr. Byron Ng, BBS, Executive Director of Employees Retraining Board (ERB) and Mr. Patrick Pang, Deputy Executive Director (Training Services). Their presence added a special touch to the celebration, as they were also at our 25th anniversary!

During my introductory remarks, I spoke of our early days and some of the outstanding ERB trainees - a number of whom were featured in a video we showed. I expressed my gratitude to all of the members of the Trade Advisory Committee, for their unwavering support and to all of the awardees receiving the Pioneer Committee Awards, Go Career Awards and Pandemic Champion Conqueror Awards. It has been an incredible journey. Mr. Byron Ng also made a motivational address, which included praise for Christian Action and for all the accolades we have won. He went on to urge us to take on additional initiatives, for the advancement of Hong Kong!

Thirty years after starting this much needed work I am humbled to share that to-date 320,000 people have attended our classes, and over 129,000 of our successful graduates have landed jobs! Much of the credit for these staggering numbers is due in very large part to the ERB itself, the companies from many community sectors - and amazing TSD team members. Thank you to all of you!

Lastly, I would like to thank God, from whom all blessings flow.
Siew Mei