Jobs For Hongkongers Marks Lunar New Year

• Jobs For Hongkongers provides employment support to Hong Kong BN(O) nationals in the North of England through a dedicated website and advice service.
• The programme works with local employers that have committed to offering good job opportunities in a supportive environment.
• Ahead of the Lunar New Year on 10th February, the Jobs For Hongkongers team has attended various community events to engage as many eligible people as possible.  

A Growth Company initiative is getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year – and continue its good work supporting individuals and communities in the process.  

Jobs For Hongkongers aims to help Hong Kong BN(O) nationals in the North of England into sustained employment via a dedicated website and advice service.

Since it was launched in the summer of 2023, the programme has provided guidance and information to dozens of participants from Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire and the Humber, helping them with everything from CV writing to English language skills.

In addition, the team has attended and contributed to several high-profile events, including:

• Three Salford tea meetings organised by the Salford Hongkongers CIC
• Empowering Your Business with Migrant Talent conference in Manchester
• Let’s Talk Careers fair in Manchester
• Migration Yorkshire Jobs Fair in Leeds
• NHS Jobs Fair in Sheffield
• Sheffield Migrant Festival

The Lunar New Year, which takes place on Saturday, 10th February, presents a unique opportunity for the project to raise its profile and reach even more people in the months ahead.

A Longstanding and Diverse Tradition

So, what is the Lunar New Year? And why is it so important to Hongkongers?

In an academic sense, it marks the beginning of the lunar and lunisolar calendars, both of which are followed by many societies in South and Southeast Asia. In cultural terms, it is one of the most significant and celebrated traditional Chinese festivals in Hong Kong. It is generally regarded as a chance for loved ones to reunite, ushering in good fortune and prosperity for the future. The celebrations are characterised by vibrant decorations, traditional lion dances, and the mutual exchange of lucky red envelopes filled with money.

Jobs For Hongkongers key worker, Phoebe Leung, explains more: “Usually, the Lunar New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The first three days of the Lunar New Year would be marked in Hong Kong as a public holiday, and we’d mainly celebrate during this period.”

But the festivities can be enjoyed by anyone anywhere in the world, as Phoebe points out: “I was delighted to see beautiful red lanterns around St. Peter’s Square in Manchester recently, which reminded me that it’s a time to plan my activities for the year ahead and celebrate with my friends and family.”

A Packed Schedule

Phoebe and her colleagues have been busy as ever in the lead up to this year’s revelry, promoting Jobs For Hongkongers at events across the UK.

On 23rd January, helped by the Cheshire, Halton, and Warrington Race and Equality Centre, the team delivered a presentation sharing CV and interview tips with 30 BN(O) residents in Crewe. A few days later, on 31st January, they did the same for 37 participants in Warrington.

In between these two seminars, the team attended a two-day Lunar New Year event at the Edgeley Community Church in Stockport. The event, which was organised by the Eat Good West Market and Gather Hongkongers Hub, attracted over 1,500 people. The Jobs For Hongkongers representatives spoke to around a hundred of these about their Cantonese language support service and jobs board.

They also managed to squeeze in a trip to London on 30th January for the Welcoming Hongkongers 3rd Anniversary Reception, hosted by the Welcoming Committee Hong Kong. The reception commemorated the establishment of the BN(O) visa scheme in 2021.

Moving onto February, Jobs For Hongkongers had an active presence at the Manchester Lunar New Year Festival, an event jointly run by Barnardo’s, Hongkongers in Britain, and Trafford Hongkongers CIC.

They will also be holding an NHS application workshop in Sheffield on 7th February, before visiting the Warrington Lunar New Year event on 9th February.

Find Out More

If you are a Hong Kong BN(O) national in the North West and you are interested in learning more about the support services we offer or browsing available vacancies, visit the Jobs for Hongkongers website.

If you are an employer or employment support provider in the North West and want to get involved in the initiative, contact us today.

The Growth Company

The Growth Company helps people from all walks of life and companies in a range of sectors find the jobs or candidates to suit their needs.

We run employment services across Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire and Humber.

Get in touch today to find out more.