Workplace English Campaign


 

Take a look at the Questions below, and you may find the answer well before you contact us:  

About the Hong Kong Workplace English Benchmarks (HKWEB)

  1.      What is Workplace English Benchmarking?

  2.      Do all employers need to adopt the benchmarks?

  3.      Will attainment of benchmarks be made one of the job application criteria? Will it become another hurdle for employees in job-seeking or promotion?

  4.     Could employers dismiss an employee or after the employment terms on the grounds that he/she could not meet the target benchmark in English?

  5.      Are there any courses available in the market to help working adults achieve the benchmarks?

 

 

 

 

 

 
1.
What is Workplace English Benchmarking?
 
It is an exercise whereby benchmarks are established to reflect the level of proficiency in English deemed desirable by employers and companies of various fields in Hong Kong.

A set of Hong Kong Workplace English Benchmarks (HKWEB) was developed by the Workplace English Campaign based on the performance in a pilot test by employee representatives of different industries, including banking, financial services, tourism, retailing, manufacturing, shipping, import & export, trading, real estates, IT & communications and medical services. The benchmarks specified in the following chart spells out the standards of English in writing and speaking that employees of different industries in Hong Kong should strive to attain.

Employers may refer to the benchmarks in recruitment and staff development for their requirements of workplace English standards. By doing so, employees will also understand more about their employers' expectations of their English standards and use these benchmarks as self-improvement targets for career growth.

For more details, please refer to relevant HKWEB web pages.






  
 

 
2.
Do all employers need to adopt the benchmarks?
 
While we encourage all employers to adopt the benchmarks, we expect those in businesses where there is a genuine need for staff with good English communication skills (e.g. tourism, retail, trading, catering, banking, and finance) will be more likely to adopt them. Employers have full discretion in deciding whether to adopt a benchmark.

The benchmarks do not constitute any Government or legal requirement. Employees can use the benchmarks as a target for self-improvement and career growth. Benchmarking tests not only provide an objective proof of their English competency, but also open up more career opportunities for them when more and more employers adopt them as a reference for recruitment and staff promotion.







 
 

 
3.
Will attainment of benchmarks be made one of the job application criteria? Will it become another hurdle for employees in job-seeking or promotion?
 
Some employers in Hong Kong already require their employees to pass certain English examinations now. This exercise will not add or reduce any hurdle for employees. We encourage the adoption of Hong Kong Workplace English Benchmarks as an objective tool to help employers better assess an employee's business English standard, but it will be up to individual employers to select the most suitable examination for their specific position/job requirements. For certain job types, we expect employers will continue to place a lot of importance on job interviews.




  
 

 
4.
Could employers dismiss an employee or after the employment terms on the grounds that he/she could not meet the target benchmark in English?
 
The Hong Kong Workplace English Benchmarks and employees' rights are two separate issues, though we have to understand that it is reasonable for employers to require their employees to have certain abilities in their work-related area or to enhance their competence as required by the work. Nevertheless, employers should as far as possible assist their employees to achieve the targets within a period of time.






  
 

 
5.
Are there any courses available in the market to help working adults achieve the benchmarks?
 
There are plenty of such courses in the market. Many reputable English language teaching institutions and course providers are also offering language courses leading to the specified international business English examinations for attaining HKWEB.

You may refer to the Continuing Education Fund reimbursable English language courses with HKWEB indication on our website for a reference of the courses.