11 December 2015, Macau

Companhia de Electricidade de Macau – CEM, S.A. (CEM) and Macau Special Olympics (MSO) held the closing ceremony for the “CEM Brightening Stars” internship program, which the two parties have jointly organized for six consecutive years, at Hotel Royal this afternoon. Eight trainees successfully completed the internship program and obtained graduation certificates from CEM. They also shared their experiences and feelings about the internship program. Family members of the trainees were also invited to the graduation ceremony.

The attending guests included Lin Danhong, representative of the Social Work Department of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR, Margaret Mang Sui Yee, Head of Labour Affairs Bureau Employment Department, Lok Lai Vun, representative from Social Welfare Bureau, Mak Soi Kun, Zheng Anting and Leong Veng Chai, members of the Macao SAR Legislative Assembly, Vong Kok Seng, President of CEM Customer Liaison Committee, members of the Commission for Rehabilitation Affairs, members of CEM Customer Liaison Committee, Ada Lo, Chairlady of MSO, Siu Yu Hong Hetzer, National Director of MSO and Iun Iok Meng, Advisor to CEM Executive Committee.

CEM and MSO have jointly organized the “CEM Brightening Stars” internship program since 2009 and more than forty trainees have completed the program. In this year’s internship program, eight trainees worked under CEM different departments, including Procurement and Logistics Department, Information Systems Department, Customer Services Department, Power and Networks Dispatch Department, Network Planning, Design & Construction Department, Safety, Health, Environment & Quality Office and Communications & Public Affairs Office for three months starting from September.

“CEM Brightening Stars” internship program aims to provide an actual working environment for MSO members, so that they can become more confident and better integrate into the society in the future. The program also gives trainees a valuable job opportunity to develop their potential and showcase their talents. Two trainees have already become long-term employees of CEM since 2014.

In his speech, Iun Iok Meng congratulated this year’s trainees for successfully completing their internships. He said that it is an inevitable part of life for the trainees to encounter different jobs, environments and colleagues in the future when they enter different companies, while the work techniques and social skills CEM colleagues have taught them will help them rise up to these challenges. Therefore, he also thanked CEM staff participating in the internship program for providing trainees with persuasive guidance and care to improve the trainees’ work capability and unleash their potential. CEM hopes to serve as a bridge by inspiring more institutions in Macau to offer job opportunities to people with special needs, thereby helping them better integrate into the society.

Ada Lo expressed gratitude to CEM for actively fulfilling its corporate social responsibility for many years and providing internship opportunities for the mentally-disabled, helping them find jobs and gain work experience so as to allow them to make progress by learning from mistakes. The trainees attached great importance to the internship opportunity, saying that their supervisors and colleagues at CEM often taught them and guided them to try out different jobs. Although the internship only lasted for three months, the trainees made progress during the process and developed a sense of responsibility. Hence, the internship is an opportunity for trainees to discover and unleash their potential and capabilities to best prepare for future job opportunities. Ada Lo also hoped that more companies can acknowledge the potential work capacity of the mentally disabled and establish a good working environment for them to guarantee their stable work efficiency, thereby allowing these individuals to contribute to the development of the company and achieving a win-win situation for both parties.

On behalf of the trainees, Chu Kai Chong, who interned at the Customer Service Department, shared his feelings at the graduation ceremony. He expressed gratitude to CEM for providing them internship opportunities, adding that through his time at CEM, he was able to learn that supplying power for Macau is no easy task. He said that he felt integrated into the big family of CEM thanks to the kindness, guidance and appreciation of his colleagues. He said that he would further examine and improve himself after the internship. He expects to find a job in the future so as to live up to his families, friends, Special Olympics Committee and CEM expectations.