Home ›› 17 Sep 2022 ›› Asia Biz
Inside the bowels of a Hong Kong industrial building, Eric Pun was among two dozen people crammed into a classroom learning to drill holes -- acquiring a new set of skills before heading abroad.
Savvy businesses have started offering crash courses in subjects like home repair and hairdressing, capitalising on a wave of people departing Hong Kong as China cracks down on dissent and strict pandemic rules upend the economy.
For Pun, a 35-year-old nurse emigrating to Australia with his family, taking the home repair class was both a practical cost-saving measure and a way to prepare mentally for the unknown.
“In Hong Kong, if there is a problem you can go to the property management office or hire someone from the mall... but when my family lives in a house, I’ll have to rely on myself,” he told AFP.
Spending a day at Renobro, one of the handful of companies offering home-repair lessons, costs HK$1,980 ($250) and courses are fully booked weeks in advance, according to company co-founder and instructor Lau Chun-yu.
“More than a thousand people have participated in our course,” Lau said.
“When we first started, we didn’t expect so many people would be emigrating.” Lau said his students, who are mostly in their thirties and include doctors and teachers, race through a one-day syllabus of more than 40 skills, such as caulking, plastering and rewiring appliances.
