Job Seekers: Application Guides

Eligibility

1. Job seekers should hold a Hong Kong permanent identity card (or other identity documents to prove that they are lawfully employable in Hong Kong), be aged 40 or above and have an unemployment period of not less than 1 month within 1 year prior to the commencement date of employment.

2. The placed job seeker commences employment after the vacancy has been accepted for display by the Labour Department (LD) and there is no kinship or prior employment relationship between the placed job seeker and the employer.

Registration

3. No prior registration under the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) is required. After job seekers have secured full-time or part-time (i.e. working 18 hours to less than 30 hours per week) employment from long-term job vacancies accepted for display by LD, job seekers can submit the completed "Preliminary Application Form for On-the-Job Training" (652KB) through the employers to LD within the first month of employment and complete other application procedures at any job centre.

   Please click here to browse information on latest job vacancies of EPEM.

On-the-job Training

4. Under EPEM, employer has to provide on-the-job training (OJT) to the placed job seeker during the approved period, and assign an experienced employee as mentor. The provision of OJT is to enable newly hired employee to adapt to new work environment and acquire essential job-specific skills. OJT can be formulated by employer based on the company's business nature, job seeker's qualifications and requirements of the job, etc.

5. In general, OJT lasts for 3 months for employees aged 40 to 59 and 6 months for employees aged 60 or above. Depending on the case circumstances (e.g. the employee already possesses the job skills and/or experience required for the position before employment), LD has the right to approve a shorter OJT period than in general cases, or to refuse the relevant application. On the other hand, subject to the approval of LD, the OJT period may be extended to a maximum of 6 months and 12 months respectively for deserving cases in which employers have to provide information for vetting.

6. After verification on preliminary application, LD will notify employers and employees by issuing a "Letter of Approval-in-Principle". Employers shall then commence the approved OJT according to the date specified in the "Letter of Approval-in-Principle". LD will provide copies of the "Preliminary Application Form for On-the-Job Training" (652KB) and relevant training forms (if applicable) submitted by the employer to the employee concerned.

7. Upon completion of OJT by eligible employees under EPEM, the employers may apply for OJT allowance from LD. For application procedures, please refer to the section of "Employers: Application Guides for On-the-job Training Allowance".

Points to note

8. LD has the right to require the employer or employee to produce relevant information and records, such as Business Registration Certificate, employment contracts, “Training Plan”, wage and attendance records, MPF records, training records, employment proof of mentor, employer’s tax records, employer's return of remuneration and pensions and other information for examination. LD also has the right to meet with relevant persons (including but not limited to employees, representatives and mentors of the company/organisation) to obtain information related to application for EPEM for examination. LD also has the right to conduct on-site inspections to the workplace to verify the application information.

9. The employer, employee and mentor shall provide true and accurate information. Provision of false or erroneous information for obtaining or intending to obtain any allowances under this programme is liable to an offence, and the case may be referred to other divisions of LD, other government departments and/or statutory bodies for follow-up.

10. LD reserves the final right to approve preliminary application for OJT, to determine the length of OJT period and to grant OJT allowance and its amount. In case of disputes over the application or interpretation of terms and clauses of EPEM, the authority of final decision rests with LD. The employer and the employee shall undertake to submit to the decision of LD.

11. For submission by post, please make a copy of the filled application forms for record and ensure sufficient mailing time and postage to make delivery in order. Underpaid mail will be rejected. For submission by fax, please keep the fax-generated log sheet that shows the successful transmission record.

12. The Application Guidelines will be updated at times and the terms should be subject to the latest version. For enquiries, please contact the EPEM Hotline at 2150 6398 (address: 10/F., Kowloon East Government Offices, 12 Lei Yue Mun Road, Kwun Tong), or visit the EPEM dedicated webpage on the Interactive Employment Service website at www.jobs.gov.hk.

For enquiries, please contact EPEM Hotline : 2150 6398