4 December 2017, Macau

The Closing Ceremony of the “CEM Brightening Stars” internship program jointly organized by Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM) and Macau Special Olympics (MSO) was held at Harbourview Hotel today. This year seven trainees completed the three-month internship and were awarded with certificates by CEM.

The attending guests included Sun Zhijun, Deputy Director of the Social Work Department of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macau SAR, Chan Un Tong, Deputy Director of Labour Affairs Bureau, Fong Chi Wa, Acting Director of Education and Youth Affairs Bureau Psycho Pedagogical Support and Special Education Centre, Lok Lai Vun, representative of Social Welfare Bureau, Song Pek Kei, member of Legislative Assembly, members of the Commission for Rehabilitation Affairs, members of CEM Customer Liaison Committee, Hetzer Siu, National Director of MSO, Ada Lo, Secretary General of MSO and Benjamin Yue, Principal Advisor to CEM Executive Committee.

The "CEM Brightening Stars" internship program was organized since 2010 and 53 trainees have completed the program in the past eight years. This year’s three-month internship program started in September and a total of seven trainees worked in different departments, including the Information Systems Department, Procurement and Logistics Department, Power and Networks Dispatch Department, Transmission and Distribution Department, Human Resources Department and Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Communications Office. CEM and MSO hoped that the internship program can lay a solid foundation for the trainees' career development in the future.

Mr Benjamin Yue said CEM looks to provide MSO trainees with diversified job opportunities via the internship program and allow them to receive on-the-job training in a real working environment, so as to help them explore their career paths, build self-esteem and improve their competitiveness. Meanwhile, the internship program can help the public learn about trainees’ working abilities, thus increasing the job opportunities for them. As Macau enjoys virtually full employment, he hoped more employers can provide job opportunities for the mentally disabled, as they are loyal and diligent, and cherish their job opportunities. They are precious human resources. In addition, promoting the employment of the mentally disabled can reduce expenditure in social welfare and ease labour shortage, thus creating a win-win for the society.

Hetzer Siu expressed gratitude to CEM's efforts in fulfilling corporate social responsibility. He said CEM has been concerned about the employment of the mentally disabled and provided internship opportunities for them in real workplace. 55% trainees of the past seven internship programs have been employed, showing that the internship programs have panned out. The internship programs have provided trainees with the precious chance to realize their working abilities, understand the requirements in the workplace, and constantly review and improve themselves. It helps prepare them to join the workforce, which is what makes the internship program meaningful. Siu expressed the hope that more companies can pay attention to the working ability of the mentally disabled and their will to contribute to the society. He suggested employers should as much as possible provide them with a sound working environment, so that they can contribute to the development of companies with steady efficiency.

At the closing ceremony, Lam Ka Wai, a trainee who worked in the Power and Networks Dispatch Department, shared his experiences in the program on behalf of all trainees. He said he is grateful to CEM and MSO for providing the internship opportunity. When he first started the internship, he was excited and nervous. He felt exited because he can try the clerical work, but he was worried that he could not meet the job requirements. However, the colleagues in CEM were all nice and friendly, and taught him to type, make photocopies and deliver documents. They even showered him with praises and encouragements to help him integrate into the CEM family.

Though the internship program is coming to an end, CEM hoped that trainees can continue to upgrade themselves, review their internships and see which areas they should improve on, and eventually land on a job in the near future.