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Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, in the Legislative Council today (May 20):
Question:
Under the existing management policy for the Administrative Service, Administrative Officers (AOs) are posted, on average in every two to three years, to different posts in various bureaux and departments. There are comments that as a result of this practice, the professional knowledge in financial affairs and interpersonal network of the AOs working in the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau lag far behind those of the staff who have worked for a long time in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited. As a result, the ability of the Bureau to manage the organisations within its purview is open to doubt, and the market also lacks confidence in the leadership of these financial officials. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it will consider launching a new training scheme for AOs to arrange those AOs who are interested in working in or will be posted to the financial affairs stream to work, before such postings, for two to three years in local banks or other local financial institutions, or even in financial institutions in London or New York, or international financial organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in order to help them broaden their horizons and enhance their professional knowledge and experience in financial affairs; and
(b) it will select, through the aforesaid training scheme, suitable officials and arrange for their postings within the financial affairs stream only, so as to train a large number of professionals who are knowledgeable in financial affairs and familiar with the market operations for the Government?
Reply:
President,
The Administrative Service is a cadre of multi-skilled administrators. Posted around different policy bureaux and departments at regular intervals, Administrative Officers (AOs) assist in policy formulation, coordination and monitoring of the implementation of policy initiatives, and ensuring the effective use of public resources to provide quality public services to the community. AOs need to display broad perspectives, meticulous planning and strategic thinking. Not only are they required to possess a good understanding of their respective policy areas, they should also be alert and sensitive in listening to the views of different stakeholders, members of the public and members of councils of different levels so that they are able to approach policy work with the overall public interest in mind. In formulating policies that contribute to the long-term development and benefits of Hong Kong, AOs need to work closely with members of professional grades in the Government with relevant organisations (such as various regulatory authorities and statutory bodies).
To ensure that AOs are exposed to different facets of work and possess relevant experience to assist in formulating and taking forward policies in a holistic manner, our general policy is to subject AOs to career postings at regular intervals to different positions - including policy bureaux, departments, district offices and representational offices in the Mainland and overseas, etc. We will place suitable officers in different postings, taking into account the specific requirements of individual posts, the experience and attributes of individual officers, long-term development of grade members, as well as the overall exigencies of the Administrative Service, etc.
In view of the complexity of AOs' duties, we attach great importance to the training of AOs. We have launched a Training and Development Framework for AOs, providing a series of training programmes catering to the needs of officers at different ranks. The training programmes cover four main areas, namely (1) governance and public administration, (2) national studies, (3) communication and media skills, and (4) leadership and personal effectiveness. In addition, we offer induction training and overseas executive training programmes to AOs to ensure that they receive timely and suitable training to develop their full potential at various stages of their career.
The Civil Service Bureau also runs a Part-time Studies Sponsorship Scheme to support AOs to pursue degree programmes that are relevant to either the general duties of AOs or to specific job requirements.
We have also set up a Private Sector Secondment Scheme, under which AOs are seconded to work in private sector organisations, and employees of the latter are attached to the Government. Through this Scheme, AOs develop a deeper understanding of the culture and mode of operation of the private sector, which in turn will enable them to display more comprehensive and thorough considerations when assisting in formulating and taking forward public policies in future. Organisations that have participated in the Scheme include those in the banking and securities sectors. Furthermore, we also organise staff exchange or secondment programmes with overseas government and regional organisations in a bid to broaden AOs' international perspectives. Our target partners include the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the Singaporean Government and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, etc.
Like their counterparts working in other policy areas, AOs working in the Financial Services Branch of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSB) maintain close communication and liaison with industry and other players. AOs in this Branch also participate in the work of various statutory and advisory bodies. They exchange views with various stakeholders on policy matters or issues concerning market operations, assess the needs and evolving demands of the financial markets and service providers, keep abreast of developments in local and overseas markets, review market operations and put up practical and timely recommendations to the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury from the perspective of safeguarding overall public interest.
In addition, FSB arranges or sponsors AOs at different ranks to take part in conferences, seminars and training programmes organised by local and overseas tertiary education institutions, professional and statutory bodies, professional training service providers, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, as well as other government departments and international organisations. Through these activities, AOs acquire up-to-date information from local and overseas experts relating to market development, best practices, and policies and legal measures in other jurisdictions.
In placing AOs to work in the financial services or other policy purviews involving relatively technical subjects, we will make flexible and appropriate manpower deployment arrangements, while balancing the overall operational requirements of the Government and the long-term development of individual officers. For example, where circumstances permit, we will give priority consideration to posting officers who had previously worked in FSB back to the Branch to assume responsibilities at a higher level. Such arrangement makes good use of the personal experience and knowledge accumulated by individual officers in a relatively specialised policy area, while allowing them to apply valuable experience gained in other policy areas and inject new thinking into the work of FSB.
In conclusion, the generalist training of AOs, including experience acquired from other policy areas, is still essential in ensuring that they display comprehensive and macro perspectives in balancing the interests of different quarters in the financial services sector. The insights and experience they accumulate in the financial services policy area will also be useful to their work in other policy areas in the future. We will review from time to time the training and development for AOs in order to ensure that the Administrative Service is able to live up to the operational requirements of a wide range of policy portfolios.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:47
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