Task Force on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training launches consultation on preliminary recommendations
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The Chairman of the Task Force, Dr Roy Chung, said, "VPET plays a pivotal role in broadening learning opportunities for youngsters and in-service personnel as well as nurturing the requisite human capital in support of Hong Kong's development. As society develops, VPET covers a wide spectrum of disciplines including engineering, business and administration, social service and other service sectors such as hospitality. There is room for the Government to step up its efforts to enable stakeholders to have a more comprehensive understanding about the latest developments of VPET so that more informed decisions can be made about pursuing VPET or other education and training pathways.
The Task Force was set up in April 2018 to consider how VPET can be better promoted in the career and life planning education in secondary schools to cater for students' diverse abilities and interests and how to foster closer business-school collaboration through the Business-School Partnership Programme to meet the manpower needs of Hong Kong, and to study other VPET promotion measures. The Task Force hopes to formulate its recommendations having regard to different perspectives to further enhance the image and professionalism of VPET. The Task Force has arranged focus group meetings with various stakeholders, including students, teachers and principals, as well as representatives of VPET institutions and employers, to listen to their views on further promotion of VPET.
The Task Force has made preliminary recommendations on various aspects. The major recommendations include: promote VPET in secondary schools through various channels (such as encouraging Business-School Partnership Programmes partners to provide career exploration activities for junior secondary school students) and through continued implementation of applied learning; review the positioning of VPET in the higher education system in Hong Kong, explore the merits of developing professional vocational qualifications at the degree level (e.g. vocational degree with primary orientation towards practical skills) and reinforce the role of Higher Diploma qualifications as a key VPET pathway at the post-secondary level; and build clear articulation pathways in the vocational sector or industries for school leavers and in-service personnel to progress to the professional level by establishing vocational qualifications under the Qualification Frameworks.
The consultation document of the Task Force on Promotion of VPET has been uploaded to the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/about-edb/press/consultation/index.html). Stakeholders are invited to send their views and suggestions to the Task Force by post (Further Education Division, Education Bureau, 7/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong), by fax (2899 2967) or by email (taskforce_vpet@edb.gov.hk) on or before July 12, 2019.
Ends/Thursday, May 23, 2019
Issued at HKT 14:03
Issued at HKT 14:03
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