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EMPLOYMENT
A draft Apprenticeship Bill, seeking to promote apprentice training and to regulate the employment and training of apprentices in designated trades, was con- sidered and accepted by the Training Council and its committee on apprenticeship in April.
In July, two industrial training bills were passed into law for the purpose of setting up training centres to provide practical training in the clothing and construc- tion industries. The Industrial Training (Clothing Industry) Ordinance imposes a training levy on the total export value of clothing items manufactured in and exported from Hong Kong. The Industrial Training (Construction Industry) Ordinance im- poses a training levy on the contract value of construction works in Hong Kong.
In the field of prevocational and vocational training, a number of centres provid- ing training in technical, commercial and catering trades are run by voluntary welfare organisations and the government.
The industrial training division of the Labour Department encourages and assists employers to set up proper apprenticeship schemes for training craftsmen and tech- nicians. In 1975, about 200 firms in the major industries had proper apprentice training, and some 3,500 technician and craft apprentices were being trained under modern apprenticeship schemes recommended by the Labour Department. The apprentices attend part-time day-release courses at the Hong Kong Polytechnic and the three technical institutes run by the Education Department in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong and Kwai Chung. To cope with the demand for such educational facilities, a fourth technical institute, at Cheung Sha Wan, is now under construction.
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