Qualifications Framework Partnerships Commendation Ceremony (with photos)
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     The Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, officiated at the Qualifications Framework (QF) Partnerships Commendation Ceremony today (December 6). Certificates of commendation were presented by Mr Ng and the Permanent Secretary for Education, Mrs Cherry Tse, to over 100 organisations for their support and contributions to the QF.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Ng said that since its launch in 2008, with the staunch support and active participation of various partners, the QF had been making steady progress and gradually bearing fruit. He expressed his gratitude to the organisations that received certificates of commendation.
 
     "At present, a total of 18 industries (covering about 45 per cent of the total labour force in Hong Kong) have set up their Industry Training Advisory Committees. They have been actively promoting the QF in their industries and assisting in drafting up the Specification of Competency Standards (SCS) for their industries, which is fundamental to the development of the QF and can be applied by different parties. In addition, seven of these industries have put into force the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) mechanism, through which almost 5 000 practitioners have obtained about 10 000 statements of attainment," he said.

     According to Mr Ng, there are already over 7 600 qualifications and their respective courses recognised under the QF and listed in the Qualifications Register available for learners. Moreover, the Award Titles Scheme and a credit system launched in October will further enhance the infrastructure of QF, laying the foundation for a credit accumulation and transfer system and facilitating lifelong learning for learners and practitioners.

     "These accomplishments are attributable to the full support of our partners, including employers, practitioners, trade associations, trade unions, institutions, professional bodies, education and training providers, as well as quality assurance agencies," Mr Ng said.

     The organisations commended are placed under four categories. They include those who have actively promoted RPL, developed SCS-based courses, adopted the QF in human resources development and actively promoted the QF. These are all important components of the QF. In each of the categories actively supporting RPL and SCS-based courses development, three organisations are commended with gold certificates for their outstanding contribution in promoting the QF.

     Regarding the promotion of RPL, the commended organisations have actively encouraged and supported their employees to apply for RPL qualifications to have their experience, knowledge and skills in the workplace recognised under the QF so as to upgrade themselves and move along the ladder of progression pathways.

     As for the development of SCS-based courses, the commended organisations have adopted SCSs in developing education and training courses. Some of them have developed or turned their in-house training programmes into SCS-based courses, which will best suit the needs of the industries and enhance the diversity of QF-recognised qualifications.

     In respect of the application of the QF in human resources development, the commended organisations have actively utilised SCSs to design progression pathways for their respective industries, so as to help practitioners identify their study needs and make future development plans. Some of the awardees have taken the initiative to accept QF-recognised qualifications for recruitment purposes and some have even accorded priority to job applicants with such qualifications.

     There are also organisations commended for their active support to QF. They include trade associations, trade unions, institutions, professional bodies, government departments and public organisations. The awardees have rendered tremendous support for the promotion of QF through various ways and means.

     Mr Ng looked forward to seeing more organisations and stakeholders become partners in their collaborative efforts to promote the QF as well as to build up and enhance this platform, so that it could make an even greater contribution to upgrading the quality of manpower.

     The QF is a seven-level hierarchy covering qualifications in the academic, vocational, continuing education and training sectors. It aims to provide a transparent and easily assessable platform to promote lifelong learning and enhance the capability and competitiveness of the local workforce. Details of the QF are available at www.hkqf.gov.hk.

Ends/Thursday, December 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:12

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