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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, said today (Wednesday) that manpower and training policies must be reviewed carefully so as to ensure that the territory has a well-trained, adaptable and versatile workforce to meet the needs of the economy and contribute to its overall competitiveness.

"Because of the changing needs of society and the economy, the type of manpower required in Hong Kong will vary at different stages of our development," he said.

"In 1999, we will complete a study of manpower forecasting best practice with a view to developing a forecast model which will serve our needs for the next 10 years.

"We will continue to study the manpower and training needs of our key industries, focusing in the coming year on the information technology sector," Mr Tung said.

With the aim of helping the workforce acquire new skills or upgrade their existing skills, the Administration will work with the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) to assist these organisations in improving their services.

In this regard, he said that the VTC proposed to unify the existing two technical colleges and seven technical institutes by the year 2002 to form a single academic and training institution, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education.

The new institute would provide courses which would be more attuned to the needs of the community, and will also promote the image of vocational education and training as an attractive and viable alternative to traditional academic education.

For the ERB, the Administration will give the Board a grant of $500 million to enable it to expand its training capacity and improve the quality of its courses for the unemployed.

In consultation with employers, the ERB will identify more job vacancies for special tailor-made training to the employer's workplace which in addition to vital working experience, also gives trainees a re-training allowance and 12 months' post-employment follow-up service.

To help ensure that both employed and unemployed people can benefit from a well-structured education and training ladder, the Administration will develop a qualifications framework for programmes provided by the VTC and the ERB.

This would provide an objective yardstick for assessing the skills standards of trainees and would help secure employers' confidence in and recognition of the qualifications, Mr Tung said.

"We aim to draw up initial proposals by the end of 1999," he added.

Mr Tung shared the concern in the community for the problems faced by the unemployed, saying that the Government would do its utmost to improve the prospects of all the citizens who were looking for work.

As well as implementing to the full measures developed by the Task Force on Employment, he said that the Administration would boost its support networks for the jobless, in particular young people, with the aim of helping them to find work more quickly.

The Job Matching Programme in the Labour Department would be strengthened and re-training services upgraded, he added.

"Realistically, the employment situation will not improve until our economy starts to recover," he said.

He hoped that the unemployed would not become discouraged and that they would make the best use of the training opportunities which the Government and other organisations provided, in order to equip themselves with new skills.

End/Wednesday, October 7, 1998

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