The Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) aims at encouraging employers to engage unemployed job seekers aged 40 or above in full-time or part-time (i.e. working 18 hours to less than 30 hours per week) long-term job vacancies and provide the job seekers with on-the-job training (OJT), through the provision of training allowance to employers. This will enable job seekers to adapt to new work environment and acquire essential job-specific skills. Upon completion of OJT by eligible employees under EPEM, employers engaging elderly job seekers aged 60 or above who are unemployed or have left the workforce may apply for an OJT allowance of up to $5,000 per month per employee for 6 to 12 months; while employers engaging unemployed job seekers aged 40 to 59 may apply for an OJT allowance of up to $4,000 per month per employee for 3 to 6 months.

In addition, the Labour Department (LD) has launched a three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (the Scheme) on 15 July 2024, targeting persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid employment for 3 consecutive months or more. Employers of the Scheme participants can at the same time enrol in EPEM to provide OJT to the participants. LD will disburse OJT allowance to eligible employers and extend the duration of OJT period under EPEM. The length of OJT period would be fixed at 6 months for employees aged 40 to 59 and 12 months for employees aged 60 or above. Eligible employers should submit a completed "Preliminary Application Form for On-the-Job Training (Applicable for Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme)".