Hong Kong’s ethnic minority jobseekers tripped up by lack of Cantonese end up doing low-skilled work, survey shows
- Most surveyed say it’s hard to break out of jobs as deliverymen, security guards and construction workers
- Hongkonger of Pakistani origin says learning Cantonese helped her land a job as a teaching assistant
After 10 years as a stay-at-home mum caring for three children in Hong Kong, Nazia Mehmood wanted to return to the workforce and teach English.
Born and raised in the city, the 40-something of Pakistani origin knew that her lack of proficiency in Cantonese would get in her way. Taking a course that helped her brush up on the language spoken by more than nine in 10 people in the city proved a big help in landing a job.
Jobseekers from Hong Kong’s ethnic minority communities stumble over the language barrier when looking for work. As a result, many end up doing low-skilled, manual work, according to official data and a recent study.
A lot of the time when they face discrimination, it is due to the language barrier
A survey on the employability of people from ethnic minority communities by Lingnan University professor of cultural studies Lisa Leung Yuk-ming showed that most found it hard to break out of working class jobs as deliverymen, security guards and construction workers.
Stereotypes of ethnic minority communities also persisted in the workplace despite Hong Kong’s claim to be inclusive and diverse, she said.
The survey done last year involved about 600 ethnic minority individuals aged mainly between 18 and 44, who were asked about the difficulties they faced in finding jobs and how they sought help from employment support services.
