Following is the speech by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, at the VTC Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony today (September 28):
 
Tony (Chairman of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), Mr Tony Tai), Donald (Executive Director of the VTC, Mr Donald Tong), Honorary Fellows, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good afternoon.
 
     It is my great pleasure to join you today for this year's Vocational Training Council Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony.
 
     I'm particularly pleased to be here on the occasion of the Council's 40th anniversary.
 
     Over its 40 remarkable years, the Council has become Hong Kong's leading vocational and professional education and training provider. Each year, some 200,000 students gain valuable credentials through a wide range of pre-employment and in-service programmes offering internationally recognised qualifications.
 
     Just imagine the talent and the manpower the Council has trained over the years and the decades. Imagine the impact that has been made on behalf of Hong Kong business, Hong Kong industry and Hong Kong economy.
 
     The seven men and women named VTC Honorary Fellows this year, this day, have also made indelible contributions to the Hong Kong economy and community. Their far-reaching influence spans sectors and businesses ranging from shipping and machinery to construction, medicine, philanthropy, beauty and design.
 
     They are exemplary role models for our Council students in specific, and for our youth in general.
 
     As President Xi Jinping said in his important address made on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in July, "Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development; and Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good career prospects."
 
     The current-term Government has taken this critical message to heart. We are formulating policies now, in particular those that will promote opportunities for Hong Kong youth and their career development.
 
     We see two particularly promising paths for Hong Kong, and our youth, namely: innovation and technology, and closer integration with our country's development. Each offers career prospects that will only continue to grow throughout this 21st century of opportunities.
    
     The Council shares our vision. Its STEM Education Centre, set up in 2017, has brought artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and big-data analytics into the Council's offerings. 
 
     Alongside technology training, the Centre emphasises the importance of critical thinking, design awareness and interdisciplinary knowledge - attributes that are essential to success in the global economy.
 
     The VTC is equally active in building connections with Mainland counterparts.
 
     In December 2020, the Council and its long-standing partner, Shenzhen Polytechnic, signed an agreement for the development of collaborative programmes and research, as well as staff and student exchanges.
 
     The agreement would make it that much easier for Hong Kong graduates to work in the Greater Bay Area.
 
     In July, the Council and Alibaba Ling Yang signed an MOU to develop the business intelligence and analytical capabilities of Council students to better tie in with the industry's manpower needs.
 
     For that, on this special day, my thanks go to the Vocational Training Council. For 40 years now, it has been helping young people gain the skills and knowledge they need to make a rewarding difference - for themselves and for Hong Kong.
 
     My congratulations, once again, to this year's VTC Honorary Fellows for your spectacular career accomplishments and for your inspiring example set to Hong Kong youth.
 
     Thanks to you and to the Council's Honorary Fellowship programme, now in its 15th year, I'm confident that the future of our young generation, and of our economy, is in excellent hands.
 
     Thank you.

Ends/Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:23

NNNN