**********************************************************
Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the 45th Anniversary Dinner of the Hong Kong Management Association tonight (December 12) (English only):
David (Li), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to join you tonight to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Management Association. The Association has a stellar history of promoting management excellence in Hong Kong. I have no doubt that the best is yet to come.
During the past forty-five years, Hong Kong has undergone dramatic transformation to become a leading international financial centre. To stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market, we must constantly upgrade the capability of our workforce. In response, over the past two decades, the educational attainment of our workforce has improved significantly. The proportion of workers with tertiary education increased from 10% in 1985 to 27% in 2004. This encouraging development has resulted from substantial government investment in education and an enhanced awareness of the need for lifelong learning in our community.
With exponential growth of knowledge today, skills become obsolete very quickly. What we learn in school and through our work experience has a very limited shelf life. We must continuously embrace new knowledge and skills in order to face future challenges at work and to remain competitive in the increasingly globalised economy.
The emphasis on lifelong learning is a recurrent theme of our educational reforms. Take for example the introduction of the 3+3+4 academic structure in 2009. Apart from consolidating secondary school into six years and allowing an additional year for university, the new academic structure will encompass major reforms to address the diversity of our students and to enhance their ability to learn. Through these reforms, we seek to nurture a better-educated, self-directed, adaptable and creative workforce, that also has a global perspective, the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, and the capacity to absorb and apply new knowledge.
At the same time, we strive to ensure that those already in the workforce share the opportunities in our fast-developing knowledge-based economy. With a shift in our economy towards high value-added activities, jobs for workers with low educational attainment are disappearing rapidly while demand for workers with higher education continues to grow.
To narrow this gap, we need to motivate our workers to enhance their employment potential and to provide them with effective training. In 2001, the Government launched the Skills Upgrading Scheme, with an initial injection of $400 million, to provide focused skills training for workers with lower educational attainment. Since its inception, the Scheme has trained over 136,000 workers in 23 industries.
In 2002, we established the $5 billion Continuing Education Fund. The Fund covers five economic sectors - logistics, financial services, business services, tourism and creative industries - and three skill areas - languages, design, and interpersonal workplace skills. So far, we have approved about 228,000 applications under the scheme.
There is, however, one hurdle. With the proliferation of training programmes and qualifications, eager learners may not know which qualification is recognised and which course to choose. On the other hand, when presented with an assortment of certificates, employers may have little clue of the actual level of competency of certificate holders.
For the benefit of both employers and employees, the Government launched a Qualifications Framework last year. To promote the initiative, we are reaching out to employers' associations, trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders, encouraging them to form Industry Training Advisory Committees. A major task of these Committees is to develop the Specifications of Competency Standards, which will become the blueprint for the industry¡¦s training programmes and qualifications. So far, eight industries have set up their Industry Training Advisory Committees.
In addition, we will introduce a mechanism for 'Recognition of Prior Learning' to acknowledge the skills and experience already acquired. This will benefit those workers who wish to pursue further learning as they can build on their competence without having to repeat any training.
To ensure the credibility of qualifications awarded by a wide range of education and training providers, we need a quality assurance mechanism to underpin the Qualifications Framework. The Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Bill now being examined by the Legislative Council has that objective in mind.
Information on the standard of courses and qualifications provided under the Qualifications Framework will help employers recruit or promote staff with the right skills and knowledge. Training programmes designed on the basis of competency standards developed by the industry will be more relevant and responsive to industry needs. For their part, workers can seek more focused training.
Ladies and gentlemen, education reform combined with manpower development initiatives will build an effective infrastructure for a lifelong learning culture in Hong Kong. Such an infrastructure will help motivate individuals to realise their dreams and to drive for success. The Government is fully committed to continuing investment in our human capital. In addition, we need to engage employers, employees, academic institutions, professional bodies and organisations such as the Hong Kong Management Association as our partners.
Human capital is a critical factor for Hong Kong's long-term prosperity, development and our sustained growth. The Hong Kong Management Association has been a strong supporter of Government's efforts to empower and upgrade our workforce. I congratulate the Association on its achievements over the past 45 years and I wish you even greater success in the years ahead.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Monday, December 12, 2005
Issued at HKT 21:33
NNNN