George Lee who has served in the Construction Department for 30 years has always made nurturing young people part of his job. A mentor in the Modern Apprenticeship Programme (co-organized by SHKP and Breakthrough) for 10 years, he is very experienced in coaching people and is as much a friend as a teacher to the young colleagues whom he has worked with over all these years. In his downtime, he and his wife regularly accompany the parents of youngsters who are on probation order to drop in on their children and help young offenders turn over a new leaf by offering assistance and mentoring.

George believes that work can cultivate a sense of responsibility and good habits in young people so that those who have gone astray can be on the right path again. He said: "What I can do is to motivate and encourage them, letting them understand that what appears minor to them at work can be of significance."

To George, young people today want to be respected. They are easily influenced by their peers so only if they treat you as their friends will they be willing to listen to you. He had an apprentice before who is always late for work because of staying up late playing computer games every night, but instead of feeling grumpy, he chose to call him every morning reminding him to get to work on time. "I'm not angry because it's just that no one is there to help fix his bad habit. My expectation of him is very simple—I just want him to develop a sense of responsibility", George said.