The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) congratulates the students and companies who participated in The Zubin Foundation’s Emerging Talent Internship Programme 2022. The programme came to its successful conclusion the day before yesterday (30 September 2022) with an event to acknowledge the interns, all of whom are non-ethnic Chinese (NEC), and the employers providing the internships. The Recognition Event, co-organised by the EOC and The Zubin Foundation, was held at the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer premises, the venue sponsor.

Recognising the value of job internships for future career prospects and at the same time, the difficulties that NEC students have in securing these openings, The Zubin Foundation created the EMerging Talent Internship Programme which is in its third year. Forty-three placements were provided to 38 NEC students interned in 24 host companies over the summer. The EOC supported the programme by inviting signatories of its Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Employers to provide over 80% of the internship positions.  

Speaking at the event, EOC Chairperson Ricky CHU Man-kin said, ”Many NEC students face barriers to employment and education opportunities, including a dearth of exposure to career options. Internships programs such as this one help address some of those barriers by bringing together potential jobs and candidates.  For NEC students, bridging this gap on their own may be difficult which is why a program like this is so valuable.” 

Shalini MAHTANI, Founder and CEO of The Zubin Foundation thanked all the participating companies and said, “Having a well-planned internship programme has benefits for both our ethnic minority students as well as employers alike. Some ethnic minority youth may be unsure about their career options and internships allow them to explore different career pathways available to them. Importantly, internships allow employers to spend time with Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities, and learn about their lives and aspirations”.

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Equal Opportunities Commission 
2 October 2022
 

Mr Ricky CHU, Chairperson of the EOC (first from left) and Ms Shalini MAHTANI, Founder and CEO of The Zubin Foundation (first from right) presented a Certificate of Completion to Ms Geanna Trisha TOBAR, a non-ethnic Chinese student intern (second from right) and a Certificate of Appreciation to Ms Amy TYE, Senior Manager, Diversity and Responsible Business at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (second from left).