The Department of Social Work has successfully secured a donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to carry out the community-based interventions of the Project on Career and Life Adventure Planning Programme for Youth for five years. Prof. Victor Wong of the Department serves as the Principal Investigator of the Community-Based Team and as one of the core members of the Project Team led by Prof. Alvin Leung, Dean of the Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust resolved to donate HK$500 million to fund this five-year Project targeted to help 200,000 young people aged 15-21 plan their transition to fruitful employment. It is a comprehensive youth programme that not only covering students from the 50 network schools and 100 affiliate schools but also benefiting to out-of-school youth including school dropouts, hidden and non-engaged young people in the community setting.
The Project aims to build an effective, holistic and sustainable career and life planning model in helping the youth pursue their life and career goals. The ultimate goal is to develop a paradigm shift of the society on promoting multiple pathways for the youth, as well as to build the professional capacity of the welfare and education sectors.
Working in cross-sectoral partnership with CUHK and HKBU, The Hong Kong Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, welfare NGOs, parent groups, government and business sectors, the HKJC will actively steer the Project, which is composed of both School-Based Team (SBT) and Community-Based Team (CBT).
Under the supervision of Prof. Victor Wong, PI of the CBT, five District Service teams respectively coordinated by five distinctive welfare NGOs including Hong Kong Children and Youth Services, Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service – Hong Kong, Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association, Hong Kong Christian Service and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, with each team receiving a donation of HK$42 million over five years, will offer career and life planning services for non-engaged youth over the territory starting from September 2015. The research team of the CBT led by Prof. Victor Wong includes the following members with research expertise in different areas of youth work: Prof. To Siu Ming, Co-PI of the CBT, from the Department of Social Work, CUHK, and Prof. Petrus Ng, Dr. Jiayan Pan, Dr. Esther Ho, and Dr. Sharon Leung, faculty members of the Department of Social Work, HKBU as Investigators of the CBT, is vested with the responsibility to conduct evidence-based research and service model building, develop a best practice manual, and operate an award scheme recognising the achievements of young people in overcoming adversity and challenges in their career and life planning journey.
The “CLAP for Youth @ JC” Project was officially launched on 19 April 2015 at the Annual Community Day Race Meeting held at Sha Tin Clubhouse of HKJC. Prof. Victor Wong and Prof. Petrus Ng were also invited to make a presentation at the Sharing Session for Deans and Heads in Shiu Pong Hall, HKBU on 13 May 2015. The CBT office located in Room AAB1008, which is now being renovated, will have a full team of about 12 research and administrative staff. All teams at central, university and district levels have been engaged in preparing for various different components of the Project including service delivery models, professional development framework, research strategies, engagement of multiple stakeholders, media networking, etc.
Colleagues are welcome to click here for a brief introduction of the Project accessible on the website of the HKJC.
