HKDSE results release imminent: secondary students reject “lying flat” culture and gain early workplace experience

July 7, 2025 -- With the release of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) results just around the corner, many secondary students are approaching crucial life decisions. Whilst facing the “lying flat” mindset, a group of students has chosen to swim against the tide by actively participating in the Career in a Nutshell programme hosted by local enterprises, gaining early workplace experience and equipping themselves with essential future skills, demonstrating the progressive spirit of the new generation. The Career in a Nutshell programme is specifically designed for senior secondary students as a year-long initiative organised by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas). The programme provides diverse workplace training, including career seminars, work experience, corporate culture immersion, project management skills, energy industry knowledge, dining etiquette, and voluntary services, helping students better understand their interests and goals whilst formulating more suitable career plans.

This year’s programme attracted 102 students from 11 schools. Among them, Ashley Cheung Hei-yi, a Form 5 student at St. Clare’s Girls’ School who aspires to become a social worker, noted that participating in the programme taught her numerous skills beneficial for future employment. Many programme activities required collaboration with other participants, allowing her to develop communication skills. “Visiting Towngas’s charity farm not only provided experience in organic farming but also taught us how to organise activities—skills that are helpful for social work,” said Ashley. She hopes to undertake a summer internship at Towngas in the future, adding, “I experienced Towngas’s warm corporate culture, where all staff members are extremely friendly. I would also like to try different positions at Towngas in the future”.

Kwok Sau-yin, a Form 4 student from Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School, expressed that her gains from participating in the programme exceeded expectations: “Throughout the process, I not only learned more about corporate operations and renewable energy knowledge, but I was most impressed by participating in professional procedures such as learning to cut and connect gas pipes. Seemingly simple gas pipes actually require numerous procedures to ensure a safe gas supply.” She added, “The programme content includes many soft skills such as communication and interpersonal techniques, helping me understand that I am more suited to people-oriented work”.

Ms Venus Lui Hei-man, a teacher at Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College, stated that this was the school’s second year participating in the programme, with students studying Geography specifically arranged to participate. “The farming activities allowed students to put knowledge learned from textbooks into real-life practice. Additionally, the activities provided them with opportunities to distance themselves from mobile phones for ‘technology detox’, and through farming and harvesting, sharing crops with those in need was very meaningful”.

Mr Chan Kai-yin, Vice Principal of Confucian Tai Shing Ho Kwok Pui Chun College, believes that the year-long activities were comprehensive and greatly benefitted the students. “Students not only learned about workplace situations through internships but also better understood the importance of corporate social responsibility. The programme helped participating students with personal growth and confidence-building. The nine participating students were originally quite introverted, but by the final school results exhibition, they could independently design multiple booth games for over a hundred students to participate in, which surprised and delighted the teachers”.

Mr Fong Kai-shing, Towngas General Manager – Group Training and Development and Principal of Towngas Training Institute, expressed delight in seeing students grow through the programme. “We tailor diverse workplace training for students, allowing them to experience workplace culture, understand industry development trends, and enhance their workplace skills whilst learning good work discipline. This year, we also added explanations of Towngas’s innovation and research development to inspire their creative thinking.” Since 2018, Towngas has organised the Career in a Nutshell programme, with over 460 students participating to date. The new cohort will commence in September this year, with the scale expanding to 12 schools and 120 student places, helping more young people prepare for future career development. 

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Press photos:

Photo 1:

This year’s Towngas Career in a Nutshell programme recently held its graduation ceremony, attended by over a hundred teachers and students. 
Photo 2:

Mr Fong Kai-shing, Towngas General Manager – Group Training and Development and Principal of Towngas Training Institute, hopes the programme will help secondary students experience workplace life early and enhance their workplace competitiveness. 
Photos 3 and 4:

Mr Fong Kai-shing (1st from left, photo 3), Towngas General Manager – Group Training and Development and Principal of Towngas Training Institute, and Mr Bien Wong Chun-cheung (1st from left, photo 4), Towngas Assistant General Manager – Group ESG, present Career in a Nutshell programme certificates to participating students from the 2024-25 cohort.

Photo 5:

  
Kwok Sau-yin, a Form 4 student from Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School, says that participating in the Career in a Nutshell programme has helped her understand corporate operations and gain knowledge about renewable energy. 
Photo 6:

Ashley Cheung Hei-yi (left), a Form 5 student from St. Clare’s Girls’ School, says she has learned many workplace skills beneficial for future employment through the Career in a Nutshell programme.

Photo 7:

Ms Venus Lui Hei-man, a teacher at Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College (right), believes the programme allows students to apply knowledge learned from textbooks in real-life practice. 
Photo 8:

Mr Chan Kai-yin, Vice Principal of Confucian Tai Shing Ho Kwok Pui Chun College, believes the year-long activities provide comprehensive coverage and greatly benefit participating students.

Photo 9:

Students participating in the Career in a Nutshell programme intern at Towngas’s Smart Warehouse, learning how modern technology manages and operates warehouses to greatly improve efficiency. 
Photo 10:

The Career in a Nutshell programme arranges for students to learn procedures such as cutting and connecting gas pipes, allowing them to experience Towngas technician training.

Photo 11:

Students participating in the Career in a Nutshell programme intern at Towngas’s Customer Service Hotline Centre, learning how to handle and respond to customer enquiries. 
Photo 12:

This year’s Career in a Nutshell programme enables participating students to explore pipeline network design, gaining insight into how Towngas ensures a safe and reliable gas supply network.

Photos 13 and 14:

The Career in a Nutshell programme arranges for students to visit Towngas’s charity farm in Yuen Long to experience the joy of organic farming and harvest crops to donate to charitable organisations.

For media enquiries, please contact:
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited

Ms Kara Kwong
Assistant Corporate Affairs Manager
Tel: 2963 3497 / 6698 3357
Email: [email protected]

Mr Julius Chow
Senior Corporate Affairs Officer
Tel: 2963 3471 / 6969 1360
Email: [email protected]

Media Enquiries

For media enquiries, please contact our Corporate Affairs Department.

Corporate Affairs Department

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
21/F, 363 Java Road North Point, Hong Kong

WhatsApp: (852) 6702 6449
Email: [email protected]

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