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Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (February 17):
Question:
Regarding the implementation of the Qualifications Framework (QF), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and names of the industries which established their own Industry Training Advisory Committee (ITAC) each year since the launch of the QF in 2008; the current number of employees in those industries and its percentage in the labour force of Hong Kong; the latest progress of the work of the ITAC of each industry in drawing up its Specifications of Competency Standards;
(2) of the current number of practitioners who have obtained qualifications recognition of a certain level under the QF and the percentage of such number in the total numbers of practitioners in the industries concerned, together with a breakdown of such figures by industry and QF level;
(3) in respect of the industries which have launched their own ¡§Recognition of Prior Learning¡¨ mechanism, of the respective numbers of practitioners who have obtained qualifications recognition through such a mechanism so far and the percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of practitioners in the industries concerned, together with a breakdown of such figures by QF level;
(4) of the industries the practitioners in which may directly obtain qualifications recognition of a certain level based on the National Occupational Qualification Certificates that they have obtained or the professional qualifications granted by City & Guilds or ITEC in the United Kingdom at present, and the relevant details; and
(5) of the details of the functions discharged and the efforts made by the Steering Committee on Qualifications Framework Fund since its inception in September 2014; and the work objectives of the Committee in the remainder of the current term of office of its members?
Reply:
President,
The Government launched the Qualifications Framework (QF) in 2008 with a view to encouraging lifelong learning and enhancing the competitiveness of the workforce in Hong Kong. The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) mechanism is established under the QF to enable employees of various backgrounds to receive formal recognition of the knowledge, skills and experience already acquired.
My reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) At present, we have assisted 21 industries in setting up 20 Industry Training Advisory Committees (ITACs) under the QF, covering about 53% of the working population in Hong Kong. The year of establishment of these ITACs, numbers of employees of these industries and their percentages in the working population in Hong Kong are set out at Annex 1.
The Specification of Competency Standards (SCSs) set out the skills, knowledge and outcome standards required of employees in different functional areas of the respective sectors. Of the 21 industries, the ITACs of 18 industries have completed drawing up at least one set of SCSs. The relatively new Security Services and Human Resource Management Sector ITACs will complete drawing up their SCSs in 2016 and 2017 respectively and the latest Fashion ITAC will kick-start the work in the first quarter of 2016.
(2) As at the end of December 2015, there were 8 422 QF-recognised qualifications and their associated education and training programmes (including those still within their Registration Validity Period (RVP) and those with their RVP yet to commence) listed on the Qualifications Register, categorised by Primary Areas of Study/Training. The numbers of qualifications under each Primary Area of Study/Training and at each QF Level are set out at Annex 2. As these programmes, which include quite many self-financed ones, are provided by more than 240 education and training institutions of various kinds, the Government does not have information on the number of people who have completed these programmes and obtained the relevant qualifications.
(3) Currently, the RPL mechanism is implemented in 14 industries. As at the end of December 2015, over 15 300 employees have been awarded statements of attainment through the mechanism, involving more than 26 900 statements at QF Levels 1 to 4. Details of the number of employees and statements of attainment by industry and QF Level as well as their percentages in the total number of employees in the industries concerned are at Annex 3.
(4) At present, practitioners of the 14 industries which have implemented the RPL mechanism are able to receive formal recognition of the knowledge, skills and experience already acquired under the RPL mechanism, regardless of whether they have obtained any National Occupational Qualification Certificates or any professional recognition/qualifications granted by other individual organisations/associations or not, and without the need of repeated training.
As regards the recognition of professional qualifications under the Hong Kong QF (HKQF), as endorsed by the Steering Committee on QF Fund (Steering Committee), the Education Bureau (EDB) and the QF Secretariat have commenced a study in August 2015 to explore the feasibility of recognising professional qualifications under the HKQF. The findings of the study will benefit the HKQF¡¦s development as it will bring to light the feasible ways for professional qualifications to be benchmarked against or recognised under the HKQF, thereby expanding the scope of the HKQF and benefitting more of the local workforce in their pursuit of lifelong learning.
(5) The Steering Committee was established on September 1, 2014 and the terms of membership are until August 31, 2016. The Steering Committee is responsible for advising the Secretary for Education on the policy, strategy and administration of the QF Fund. The terms of reference and membership of the Steering Committee are at Annex 4. Since its establishment, the Steering Committee has endorsed the following major items:
(a) to commence the collaboration with the European Commission in November 2014 on the Comparability Study between the HKQF and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) so as to understand the corresponding levels of qualifications between the HKQF and the EQF;
(b) to commence a study in June 2015 on developing a brand strategy for the HKQF, with a view to enhancing the public image and recognition of the QF by various stakeholders;
(c) as mentioned in part (4) of the reply, to commence a study in August 2015 to explore the feasibility of recognising professional qualifications under the HKQF;
(d) with effect from January 1, 2016, to implement various improvement measures under the Accreditation Grant Scheme for Self-financing Programmes and the RPL Support Scheme;
(e) to conduct a study with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority on referencing between the HKQF and the New Zealand QF, which is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2016; and
(f) to conduct three pilot projects on the development of vocational qualifications pathway initiated by three ITACs (i.e. Automotive, Banking and Property Management). The pilot projects seek to map out the progression pathways of different job roles in the respective industries in terms of the Units of Competency under the relevant SCSs and explore if new vocational qualifications are required for the job posts in demand. The vocational qualifications developed will further link up QF-recognised qualifications to the workplace and attract new blood and encourage practitioners to pursue learning and upgrading.
In 2016, the EDB will, in consultation with the Steering Committee, based on the findings of the study as mentioned in item (b) above, formulate a detailed brand strategy with a view to enhancing the public image and recognition of the QF by various stakeholders in the coming years; and based on the outcomes of the pilot projects under item (f) above, consider whether the development of vocational qualifications pathway should be extended to other industries/sector under the HKQF. We will also consult the Steering Committee on the policy, strategy and administration of the QF Fund in view of the latest development of the QF.
Ends/Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:22
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