Closed Borders, Disappearing Jobs
Ah Man’s Story (Wanchai centre beneficiary)
People from all walks of life have been deeply affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic; certain sectors more so than others. Ah Man is a clear example of this. He had been employed for more than a year as a ticketing agent selling online cross-border tickets. With the implementation of cross-border epidemic prevention measures in February, his company lost all its income and Ah Man was forced to take no pay leave. Knowing that the MakeItWork (MIW) Centre offers low cost meals and employment support services, he joined as a member in hopes of reducing his cost of living and finding a new job as soon as possible. Since then, he has attended a Employee Retraining Board course, and will soon receive the qualifications to be a security guard. However, with the third wave of the epidemic, job matching and hiring services have been postponed. We believe that many have experienced similar hardships during this difficult time and hope they and Ah Man will soon find work to relieve their financial and mental burdens.