EMPLOYMENT
Industrial Training
53
The Hong Kong Training Council was appointed by the Governor in 1973 to advise him on the measures necessary to ensure a comprehensive system of manpower training geared to meet the developing needs of Hong Kong's economy. On the council's recommendation, the Governor appointed 10 industry training boards, six commerce training boards and six committees to help the council.
The 10 industry training boards deal with the training needs and problems of 10 major industries: automobile repairs and servicing; building and civil engineering; clothing; electrical; electronics; machine shop and metal working; plastics; printing; shipbuilding and ship repairs; and textiles.
The six commerce training boards handle manpower training in six major commerce sectors: accountancy and allied fields; banking; hotels, catering and tourism; insurance; journalism; and the wholesale, retail, import and export trades.
The six committees examine problems common to more than one industry or commerce sector. They are: apprenticeship; instructor training; management and supervisory training; technical training in institutions; translation; and vocational training.
The Hong Kong Training Council also has two ad hoc committees one on training in industries not covered by the industry training boards and the other on technologist training. The council submitted its fifth report to the Governor in May. The Training Council Division of the Labour Department is the secretariat of the council.
During the year, manpower surveys were conducted by the five training boards covering the building and civil engineering, electrical, plastics, clothing, and textile industries. The Committee on Instructor Training also conducted a survey to collect information on the training of instructors. At the same time, the training council approved for publication several survey reports and manuals on job standards, model training programmes and trade tests, most of which are on sale at the Government Publications Centre in Central District.
The Clothing Industry Training Authority and the Construction Industry Training Authority are statutory bodies which were appointed by the Governor in September, 1975. The Clothing Industry Training Authority is empowered to collect a training levy on the total export value of clothing items manufactured in, and exported from, Hong Kong. The training authority for the construction industry collects a levy based on the value of all construction work undertaken in Hong Kong. The revenue is used to maintain the Clothing Industry Training Centre and the Construction Industry Training Centre which provide practical training.
The Apprenticeship Ordinance, which came into effect in 1976, provides a legal frame- work for the training of craftsmen and technicians. The ordinance requires an employer to provide a contract of apprenticeship when engaging an untrained person aged between 14 and 18 in a designated trade. The contract must then be registered with the Commis- sioner for Labour. Employers of apprentices engaged in non-designated trades, or of apprentices over 18 engaged in designated trades, also may send their contracts of appren- ticeship to the Labour Department for voluntary registration.
Five construction and furniture trades were designated in July, 1979, bringing the total number of designated trades to 36. All these trades were recommended for designation by the Hong Kong Training Council.
The Apprenticeship Division of the Labour Department is responsible for administering the ordinance. Its duties include: advising and assisting employers in the training and employment of apprentices; ensuring that the training of apprentices is properly carried out; conciliating in disputes arising out of a registered contract of apprenticeship; and