This article gives a brief account of the options of further education for secondary 5 and 7 students under the existing academic structure. As the New Senior Secondary Academic Structure is to be implemented from September 2009, all students under the new academic structure will enjoy six-year secondary education.

Students who have obtained HKCEE results that meet the minimum HKALE entry requirements may apply for an S6 place. You can use the search engine below to look for the day schools offering S6 classes.

• Search Engine for Day Schools with S6 Classes
  http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=2464&langno=1

You can obtain related information about the admission procedure on the EDB webpage and from the Careers Guidance Handbook for S5 Graduates published in July of that year and its e-version.

• More about S6 admission procedure
  http://www.edb.gov.hk/s6ap_e
• "Careers Guidance Handbook for S5 Graduates"
  http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=2343&langno=1&lango=2

The Procedure is not applicable to DSS schools, private schools and international schools. Students should apply for admission to these schools direct.

If you have not obtained an S6 place, there are alternatives for you to consider. Some of the study options are introduced in the following.

Sub-degree Programmes

Many local institutions provide sub-degree programmes to S5 graduates on a self-financing basis. Sub-degree programmes include:

• associate degree;
• higher diploma;
• professional diploma; and
• other post-secondary programmes of equivalent standard.

These programmes cover various disciplines to meet the needs of the students. When choosing sub-degree programmes, you should approach the institutions for details of the course contents, subjects offered, their articulation arrangements with other universities, etc.

Locally-accredited sub-degree programmes are recognised by the Government, many professional bodies and overseas tertiary institutions. Sub-degree holders can apply for publicly-funded senior year undergraduate places offered by University Grants Committee (UGC) funded institutions.

You can access EDB's dedicated website, iPASS for lists of locally-accredited self-financing post-secondary programmes.

• Go to iPASS
  http://www.ipass.gov.hk/eng/index.aspx

Project Yi Jin

Many post-secondary programmes require applicants to have certain level of education. S5 leavers who failed to attain 5 passes in HKCEE can enrol on Project Yi Jin to acquire the qualification. A full Project Yi Jin Certificate has been assessed by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications as comparable to 5 passes in the HKCEE.

• More about Project Yi Jin (available in Chinese only)
  http://www.edb.org.hk/yijin/index.html
• Financial assistance schemes for Project Yi Jin students
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/pyj.htm

Vocational Education

Vocational education is one of the popular study options for S5 and S7 graduates. It has a broad scope covering various professions that require different skills and knowledge. You may choose a programme according to your interests, abilities and career aspirations.

The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE)
IVE is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council (VTC). It provides an alternative route of education for post-secondary 5 and 7 students. IVE courses cover the following nine academic disciplines:

• Applied Science;
• Business Administration;
• Child Education and Community Services;
• Construction;
• Design, Printing, Textiles and Clothing;
• Hotel Service and Tourism Studies;
• Information Technology;
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering; and
• Mechanical, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering.

For course information and application details you can visit IVE's website.

• More about IVE
  http://www.vtc.edu.hk/vtc/web/template/institute_desc_list.jsp?fldr_id=438&lang=en

The VTC also offers pre-employment vocational education and training (VET) programmes for school leavers through its other members institutions, including the Hong Kong Design Institute, the School of Business and Information Systems, the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre, the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute, the Maritime Services Training Institute, the Youth College and the 12 industry-specific Training and Development Centres.

You can browse VTC's website for more information about its VET courses.

• Studying at VTC
  http://www.vtc.edu.hk/vtc/web/main/home/studying.jsp?fldr_id=15#

Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YPTP‧YWETS)

YPTP‧YWETS provides a platform of diversified training and job search with comprehensive pre-employment and on-the-job training opportunities for young people aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree or below level to better understand themselves and their work aptitudes while enriching their job skills and experience so as to enhance their employability.

YPTP‧YWETS offers a wide range of services such as pre-employment training, workplace attachment, on-the-job training, case management services, tailor-made training projects, etc.

• More about YPTP‧YWETS
  http://www.yes.labour.gov.hk/home.aspx?lang=en

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA)

If you are interested in performing arts theatre and entertainment arts, film and television, you may consider the programmes offered by the HKAPA, which cover Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, Theatre and Entertainment Arts, and Chinese Traditional Theatre. The programmes lead to different levels of academic awards. For more details you can refer to the link below.

• Programmes offered by HKAPA
  http://www.hkapa.edu/asp/general/general_academic_introduction.asp?lang=eng&mode=gui#academic

Joint University Programmes Admission System (JUPAS)

The UGC-funded institutions provide 14,500 first-year-first-degree places every year. Students with HKALE results can apply through JUPAS for admission to publicly funded and non-publicly-funded programmes.

Publicly-funded programmes

• full-time or sandwich bachelor's degree programmes offered by CityU, HKBU, LU, CUHK, HKIEd, PolyU, HKUST and HKU
• full-time associate degree programmes offered by CityU
• full-time or sandwich higher diploma programmes offered by PolyU
• full-time higher diploma programme offered by HKIEd

Non-publicly-funded programmes

The Open University of Hong Kong offers non-government-funded full-time bachelor's degree programmes.

• More on JUPAS-participating institutions and programmes offered
  http://web.jupas.edu.hk/jupas/content_aboutjupas.htm

Other Study Options

Apart from the publicly-funded degrees programmes, S7 graduates also have other options for further studies such as:

• Self-financing local sub-degree or degree programmes
  http://www.ipass.gov.hk/eng/programmes.aspx
• Post-secondary education offered by VTC
  http://www.vtc.edu.hk/vtc/web/template/level_4.jsp?fldr_id=896
• YPTP‧YWETS of Labour Department
  http://www.yes.labour.gov.hk/home.aspx?lang=en
• Programmes offered by HKAPA
  http://www.hkapa.edu/asp/general/post_sec_under_grad.asp?lang=eng&mode=gui

The Student Financial Assistance Agency administers various schemes for full-time students.

• Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/tsfs.htm
• Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/fasp.htm
• Student Travel Subsidy for Tertiary or Post-secondary Students
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/travel.htm
• Non-means-tested Loan Scheme
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/nls_index.htm
• Financial Assistance for Secondary Students (for S5 graduates)
  http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/schemes/fts.htm

You can refer to the following article for the points to note when applying student financial assistances.

• Points to Note When Applying Student Financial Assistances
  http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/education/financialassistance/postsecondary/assistances.htm