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The Skills Upgrading Steering Committee, which advises the Government on the planning and operation of the Skills Upgrading Scheme, held its first meeting today (November 20).

The Chairman of the committee, the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mrs Fanny Law, said: "The Steering Committee comprises three officials and twelve non-officials. The non-officials include a good mix of representatives of employers and employees, academics as well as persons experienced in the training field."

"I look forward to members' advice and contribution. With members' expert advice, we will be able to provide training courses that best suit the needs of the industries, thereby helping elementary workers to enhance their employability and adaptability," she added.

The Skills Upgrading Scheme is one of the initiatives on investing in human capital outlined in the Chief Executive's 2000 Policy Address.

Under the Scheme, the Government will provide elementary workers with focused skills training in the coming two years. The target is workers with secondary education or below. The Steering Committee will advise the Government on the use of the $400 million earmarked for the Scheme, specifically:

(a) to oversee the overall design of the Scheme, the types of training to be offered, and the training mode;

(b) to oversee the operation of the Scheme; and

(c) to review the effectiveness of the courses and the Scheme as a whole.

"We hope to roll out the training programmes in phases starting from the second quarter of 2001," Mrs Law said.

The membership of the committee is as follows:

Non-official members

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*Miss Chan Yuen-han, member of the Legislative Council;

*Mr Locky Chu Kwan-lam, Executive Director, APAC Industries Company Limited;

*Mr Kwong Sing-szee, Executive Director, Employees Retraining Board;

*Mr Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, Managing Director, Forward Winsome Industries Limited;

*Mr Lee Kai-ming, Chairman, Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions;

*Professor Lee Ngok, Executive Director, Vocational Training Council;

*Mr Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, Managing Director, Sun Hing Knitting Factory Limited;

*Professor Liu Pak-wai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Chinese University of Hong Kong;

*Dr Wing Suen, School of Economics and Finance, The University of Hong Kong;

*Mr Thomas Tang, Executive Director, Hong Kong Productivity Council;

*Mr Michael Tien Puk-san, Managing Director, G2000 (Apparel) Limited;

*Ms Yuk Tak-fun, Alice, Convenor, Strategic Committee on Tackling Unemployment set up under the Hong Kong Council of Social Services.

Official members

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*Mrs Fanny Law, the Secretary for Education and Manpower (Chairman);

*Mr Tang Kwong-yiu, the Government Economist;

*Ms Yvonne Choi, Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Industry.

End/Monday, November 20, 2000

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