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Following is a question by the Hon Charles Peter Mok and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, in the Legislative Council today (February 24):
Question:
Some members of the information technology (IT) industry have relayed to me that at present, the lack of recognition of the professional status of IT practitioners and the absence of a clear career advancement path in the industry have resulted in persistent shortage and mismatch of talents in the industry. In addition, the quality of IT education in primary and secondary schools varies greatly due to differences in school resources available, and the contents of the IT courses concerned are outdated, thus failing to nurture quality talents required for the development of the IT industry. All these, coupled with the steep decline in the number of students taking the Information and Communication Technology Examination of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination in recent years, have caused such members of the IT industry to worry about the long-term supply of IT manpower. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Task Force on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Professional Development and Recognition set up under the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee already submitted, in August 2015, its final report on examination of the case of establishing a unified framework for ICT professional recognition (unified framework), of the work progress of the authorities in implementing the relevant recommendations; whether they have drawn up a timetable for establishing the unified framework; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the details (including the number of training places offered and the average hours of training received by each teacher each year) of the professional training provided in the past three years by the authorities for teachers teaching the subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in secondary schools; the details of the authorities' plans to provide professional training for such teachers in the coming three years (including the timetable);
(3) as currently there are only eight partner schools participating in the Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools implemented by the authorities, whether the authorities will expand the scale of the Programme; if they will, of the details (including the timetable, the number of partner schools to be added and the additional resources to be provided); if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the authorities will increase the subsidy provided under the Continuing Education Fund for people taking ICT courses, so as to encourage training bodies to provide more courses in this field and to encourage more people to take such courses?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the relevant policy bureaux and departments, our reply to the four parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The Government established the Task Force on Information and Communications Technology Professional Development and Recognition in November 2012 under the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee to examine the case of establishing a unified framework for ICT professional recognition in Hong Kong. The Task Force completed a report in mid-2015 to recommend the way forward. The report was also published on the website of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in September 2015. The report pointed out that as the industry and the public have not yet reached a general consensus on some implementation details of the unified framework for ICT professional recognition, it would be difficult to implement the framework. Therefore, at present, the Government does not have a timetable for establishing a unified framework for ICT professional recognition. Nonetheless, with reference to the recommendations in the report, the Government will continue to facilitate local ICT professional development through various measures including:
(a) implementing the "Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools" to cultivate ICT talents;
(b) providing funding support to ICT professional development initiatives through various existing funding schemes;
(c) encouraging Government information technology staff to attain relevant ICT professional qualifications;
(d) collaborating with other stakeholders to develop and update the Specification of Competency Standards for the ICT industry under the Qualifications Framework; and
(e) encouraging qualifications awarding bodies to continue to explore cross recognition of professional qualification schemes between Hong Kong and the Mainland and other jurisdictions.
(2) In the past three years, the Education Bureau continuously provided professional development programmes to secondary teachers teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related subjects in secondary schools. Please refer to Appendix 1 for relevant numbers of training places and programme types. The modes of the training activities include symposia/seminars, workshops, experience sharing sessions, etc. Teachers could apply for the programmes according to their personal needs or the needs of their schools. Regarding the average hours of training received by each teacher every year, we do not have relevant figures in hand.
In the next three years, the Education Bureau will organise professional development programmes on STEM education for school principals, middle managers and relevant teachers. These programmes will focus on developing students' ability in integration and application of knowledge and skills to facilitate the development of STEM education. Please refer to Appendix 2 for numbers of participants and programme types. The modes of the activities will also include symposia/seminars, workshops, experience sharing sessions, etc.
(3) The Government has allocated $75 million to launch the "Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools" which would last for eight years starting from the 2015/16 school year. Under collaboration among Government, schools, tertiary institutions and the industry, eight partner schools would run Enriched IT Classes to provide in-depth IT training for students with interest and talents in IT. Apart from partner schools, every year the Programme invites all local secondary schools to submit proposals for organising different IT learning activities outside the school curriculum, so as to provide more opportunities for students to apply IT knowledge as well as to nurture their creativity through IT or related activities. Each selected proposal will be provided with a maximum funding support of $50,000.
The OGCIO will conduct a mid-term review in 2017/18 (i.e. two years after implementation of the Programme), and consider the way forward of the Programme in 2020/21. The OGCIO will report on the progress of the Programme to the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting regularly.
(4) Eligible applicants under the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) may apply for reimbursement of 80% of the fees of the courses upon successful completion, up to a ceiling of $10,000 for each applicant. At present, the tuition fees of most of the ICT and related courses under the CEF are at or below $10,000. The current level of subsidy is generally sufficient.
Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:54
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