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Following is a question by the Hon Alice Mak and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
Question:
The Government announced on the 3rd of last month the establishment of a Task Force on Promotion of Vocational Education (Task Force) with immediate effect. The function of the Task Force is to advise the authorities on the strategy and concrete proposals for the promotion of vocational education in the community, so as to raise public awareness and recognition of vocational education. It is learnt that the composition of the Task Force comprises people from different sectors, except for representatives from the labour sector. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria adopted by the Government for deciding the composition of the Task Force, and the reasons for not appointing representatives from the labour sector to the Task Force; when the Task Force commences its work and the expected time for it to put forward concrete proposals;
(2) whether it will consider appointing representatives from the labour sector to the Task Force, so as to ensure that the work of the Task Force will not be reduced to a vanity project; if it will, when it will make such appointments; if not, the reasons for that and given the absence of representatives from the labour sector, how it ensures that the strategy and proposals put forward by the Task Force will be comprehensive, recognised and impartial, and be able to dovetail with the practical situations of various industries and the needs of front-line employees; and
(3) whether it has formulated any measures that can be implemented before the Task Force submits its report, so as to reinforce and promote vocational education, such as immediately reviewing the Apprenticeship Ordinance, which has been in force since 1976, and extending and consolidating the apprenticeship schemes which fall outside the aforesaid ordinance, in order to perfect the apprenticeship system; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Vocational education plays a pivotal role in the education system, integrating education and employment as well as providing flexible multiple pathways for young people. As a follow up to the announcement made by the Chief Executive in the 2014 Policy Address, the Government established the Task Force on Promotion of Vocational Education (Task Force) on June 3, 2014. The Task Force will advise the Secretary for Education on a strategy and concrete proposals to promote vocational education in the community, raising the awareness and recognition of students, parents, teachers, schools and the general public on vocational education.
(1) and (2) The Education Bureau (EDB) has taken into account that the terms of reference of the Task Force is to promote vocational education, and therefore members of the Task Force are drawn from relevant backgrounds, including those from the vocational education and training sector, various business and industries, as well as those possessing good knowledge of education, parent education, youth and public relations. In order to widely promote vocational education, we need to change the entrenched bias among some of the general public towards traditional academic pursuits. To ensure that the promotion of vocational education aligns with the needs of various relevant industries as far as possible, the participation of employers is also important. In this connection, members of the Task Force also include representatives from various business and industries.
The labour sector has all along been a key stakeholder supporting the promotion of vocational education and training. As such, EDB has earlier issued letters to major trade unions inviting them to put up their views and suggestions on how to better promote vocational education. In addition, the Task Force also plans to organise focus group meetings in July and August 2014 through a consultant to gauge the views of relevant stakeholders (including major trade unions) on promotion of vocational education in Hong Kong.
The Task Force convened its first meeting on June 4, 2014, and is expected to submit a report to the Secretary for Education within a year. In implementing concrete proposals on the promotion of vocational education, the EDB will work closely with the vocational education and training providers, including major trade unions.
(3) The Chief Executive announced in the 2014 Policy Address that the Government will implement measures to strengthen life planning and vocational education in the following ways:
(a) With effect from the 2014/15 school year, schools operating senior secondary education levels will be provided with a recurrent grant to enhance life planning support services. Besides, EDB will expand its Career Guidance Team to strengthen professional support services to schools to take forward a paradigm shift towards life planning education in a more coordinated and systematic manner;
(b) The Vocational Training Council (VTC) will implement the Pilot Training and Support Scheme, which aims to attract young people to pursue vocational education and develop a career in specific industries by integrating structured apprenticeship training programmes with clear career progression pathways. The scheme will benefit 2 000 students in total, targeting Secondary 3 to Secondary 6 school leavers and eligible adult learners;
(c) Recurrent funding is allocated to VTC for providing industrial attachment opportunities for all students of Higher Diploma programmes and students of some Diploma in Vocational Education programmes. It is estimated that the programme will benefit over 9 000 students in VTC every year; and
(d) The Qualifications Framework (QF) Fund is proposed to be established to provide a steady source of income to support the sustainable development and implementation of QF.
On apprenticeship training, apart from the statutory Apprenticeship Scheme, VTC has also launched the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme and the traineeship scheme for the service industries. The Modern Apprenticeship Scheme mainly provides more flexible and shorter pre-employment training programmes on skills at a lower level; whereas the traineeship scheme applies the mode of training-cum-work and provides structured on-the-job training in more advanced skills.
The existing training schemes were developed in response to various demands of the trades and trainees in terms of the nature of trades, training needs and training levels. The Government is ready to continue listening to the community's views on these training schemes, and consider whether and how the relevant schemes should be improved or consolidated.
Ends/Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:45
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