26
EMPLOYMENT
Responsibilities in the field of industrial training are divided among government departments. For the training of operatives, the principal responsibility for government's participation is dis- charged by the Labour Department in consultation with industry and with any government department which may have an interest. For craftsman training Government's participation is the responsi- bility of the Education Department where educational institutional training is concerned. Otherwise, it is the responsibility of the Labour Department, in consultation with such organizations as may be established to advise on such training, and with industry and other interested government departments. For technician and technologist training, the responsibility falls_mainly on the Educa- tion Department. At technician level, a large part of the financial burden continues to rest upon the Government as far as recurrent expenditure is concerned although considerable capital resources have been supplied by industry for the development of the Hong Kong Technical College. At the technologist level, the provision of theoretical training remains in the hands of the Government so far as it is not provided by the universities.
The Government has indicated that, while industry itself must be responsible for financing training at skilled and semi-skilled levels, it will assist by providing land free of premium for approved group training schemes organized by industry or by granting loans for the purchase of factory floor space for training purposes. The policy of granting land free of premium for operative training was extended in March 1967 to embrace any company whose employees need specialized training of a nature which cannot be included in a group scheme provided that there is an element of public interest involved. To date only one application for land free of premium has been received and approved.
Some industries have schemes for operative training although the scope and method vary widely. In the cotton spinning and weaving branches of the textile industry newly engaged workers without previous experience but with minimum qualifications serve a learnership of several months, finally becoming semi-skilled operatives. The same two branches of the industry also provide training at technician level for junior maintenance and shift engineers. This usually lasts two years depending on the requirements of