INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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other 10 represent government departments closely associated with productivity matters.
The council's terms of reference are wide ranging and are aimed at promoting by all means possible increased productivity of in- dustry in Hong Kong. To achieve this, the council works in close co-operation with other organisations active in this field, in partic- ular with the Hong Kong Management Association, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the two universities and the Hong Kong Technical College.
The executive instrument of the council is the Hong Kong Pro- ductivity Centre which was formally established on April 1, 1967. The centre co-ordinates the activities of persons and organisations engaged in the study and development of productivity techniques in industry; collects and disseminates information relating to pro- ductivity and provides training in productivity techniques. Over 60 professional and administrative officers had been appointed to the staff of the centre by the end of 1971 and recruitment continues. To meet the demand for more services in the field of industrial technology and management techniques, the centre obtained, through the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organisation, the services of two industrial engineering experts to provide advanced training for technical staff.
The centre's activities are grouped under four main divisions— Manpower Development, Operations (which includes consultancy service for industry), Research and Administration. Its premises in Central district comprise administrative, consultancy and research offices, three lecture rooms and a technical reference library. To bring the centre's services as close to industry as possible, a branch office was opened in Kwun Tong in September. It comprises two lecture rooms, an audio-visual unit, a chemical laboratory and a low cost automation unit. This unit is the first of its kind established in Hong Kong. Its major function is to disseminate knowledge on low cost automation devices and to provide practical assistance, especially to small-scale industry on how, through their use, costs can be reduced and productivity raised.
Since its establishment in 1967, the Productivity Centre has pro- vided training for more than 4,500 people in commerce and industry and undertaken many consultancy projects. During the initial stages of its development, the centre's training programmes were mainly of the horizontal level in production management techniques