A life changer — internship helps ethnic minorities to pursue their career

After graduating from business school, Manfred entered the finance industry, earning a steady income but hoping for a change. “I always thought business was my thing, but I felt that my job was meaningless, and I am getting more fed up.” False expectations in himself and the industry had him going in circles in his career. “Work takes up one-third of your life, and is an integral part of your planning. If your career goes astray, it will affect your income, self-confidence and happiness.”

Ethnic minorities can only be couriers? 

Manfred is now the founder of RightPick, a social enterprise that employs AI data analysis tools to pick the right job for job seekers, and provides elective planning services for DSE students. Reaching out to the youth, he noticed that ethnic minorities are less competitive in employment than Hong Kong and Mainland students, as they lack proficiency in Chinese, so many of them take up labour jobs like delivery. With low upward mobility, they become passive. “There are not many choices, especially for ethnic minority women. According to a survey, 80% of them are not keen on labour work, so their options are even more limited.”

Internship certificate being more credible than CV

In fact, many employers are open to hiring ethnic minorities, if we can bridge the gap between them. RightPick addresses ethnic minorities’ lack of working experience, and utilises its network to create a “one-stop” job matching service, with internship as the first step. “They can learn new skills and improve their Chinese proficiency, while getting to know the workplace, which will boost their confidence and interview chances for better offers in the future.” After the internship, a certificate will be issued by the employer, stating the number of hours completed on certain tasks, e.g. “40 hours on marketing”, which recognises the intern’s competence more than a CV.

Employer encourages employee to open up 

For the third stage, interns will be matched with a full-time job. RightPick’s career assessment uses AI tools to analyse big data and summarise various job functions of different positions, job seekers can prioritise according to their interests, and the system will come up with the most suitable job for them. “Even for those that are unsure what they want to do, the system will give them an answer, so they can see the possibilities.” Manfred shared one of the cases with us, in which the job seeker comes from a poor family with low education level, staying within an ethnic minority community, and having difficulties in getting a job. Manfred arranged an internship for him through an employer he is close with. “Some youngsters are unmotivated due to adverse circumstances, they may have lost their direction. This employer is very patient, he takes the time to chat with and get to know him during the internship. When I met him again, he became a whole new person.” This job opportunity not only builds his self-confidence and belief in his own abilities, but also allows him to make new friends and identify his career path.

Unleash the boundless potential of AI tools

Established by Manfred, “People of Diverse Race Internship, Performance Certification & Hiring Platform” was selected as one of the Incubatees of Impact Innovation Lab by MakerBay Foundation. Apart from receiving The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund, he also got insights into the factors that enhance employers’ willingness to recruit ethnic minorities. “MakerBay is a registered charity, but operates like a social enterprise — this broadened my horizons.” He hopes to design more life planning related products for ethnic minorities, and explore AI applications. “I also want to help other disadvantaged groups, such as the elderly. Although there are many gerontechnology products on the market, not all problems are solved, we can deal with the remaining pain points.”