The Education Bureau (EDB) today (September 30) announced the establishment of the Arboriculture and Horticulture Industry Training Advisory Committee (A&H ITAC) under the Qualifications Framework (QF) starting from October 1, 2016, and appointed Mr Victor Man Kwok-hing as its Chairperson. Also appointed to the Committee were 22 members comprising employers and representatives of trade associations, professional bodies and labour unions, and representatives of the EDB and the Development Bureau (DEVB).

     The A&H ITAC is mainly tasked with drawing up the Specification of Competency Standards (SCSs) and developing the Recognition of Prior Learning mechanism for the arboriculture and horticulture industry. The membership of the A&H ITAC is as follows:

Chairperson: Mr Victor Man Kwok-hing
Vice-Chairperson: Mr Chiky Wong Cheuk-yuet
Members:
Mr Herman Au
Mr Sammy Au
Ms Amy Chan
Mr Cheung Pak-kuen
Mr Choi Lim-cho
Mr Daniel Ho
Mr Ho Fo-hei
Mr Ho Wing-keung
Mr Kevin Kua
Mr Eduardo Lai
Mr Lai Ka-ming
Mr Eddy Lam
Mr Lau Sum-yan
Mr Tony Leung
Mr Li Kwok-man
Dr Allen Lim Miaw-shin
Mr Matthew Lo Man-wai
Ms Jessica Man
Mr Ken So Kwok-yin
Representative of the EDB
Representative of the DEVB

     The members are appointed for a term of two years from October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2018.

     The Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, said, "In Hong Kong, a densely populated city, the arboriculture and horticulture industry helps improve the quality of living environment and the public has expectations on the professional standards of practitioners. Mr Man has over 15 years of industry experience. He is dedicated to the industry's human resource development and has deep understanding of the training needs of the industry practitioners. I believe that under his leadership, the A&H ITAC will enhance the professional standards of the industry through manpower development and training, contributing to the sustainable development of the industry." 

     Following the establishment of the A&H ITAC, the EDB has assisted 22 industries/sectors in setting up 21 Industry Training Advisory Committees (ITACs) under the QF. The ITACs now cover 53 per cent of the workforce in Hong Kong.

     The ITACs are established to implement the QF within the industry. One of their major tasks is to draw up SCSs for the relevant industries to set out the knowledge, skills and outcome standards required of employees in different functional areas of the industry and provide a basis for education and training providers to design programmes that best suit the needs of the industry. The SCSs also serve as a useful guide for employers to develop in-house training and human resource management, such as staff recruitment and performance assessment. Practitioners may make reference to the SCSs in drawing up their learning blueprint in the pursuit of lifelong learning to better equip themselves to meet the challenges of a knowledge-based society.
 
     Implemented by the Government since 2008, the QF is a seven-level hierarchy covering qualifications in the academic, vocational and continuing education sectors, providing accessible articulation pathways for lifelong learning. For details, please visit the website at www.hkqf.gov.hk.

Ends/Friday, September 30, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:30

NNNN