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in the course of employment. It also ensures that people covered by the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance obtain compensation as soon as possible from a special fund. The Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance which came into operation on January 1, 1981 provides for the compensation of people suffering from silicosis and asbestosis. A statutory Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board has been set up under the provisions of the ordinance and compensation is paid from the Pneumoconiosis Com- pensation Fund, which is financed by a levy imposed on the construction and quarry industries.
Industrial Training
The Hong Kong Training Council was appointed by the Governor in 1973 to advise on the measures necessary to ensure a comprehensive system of manpower training geared to 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 industry training boards deal with 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 commerce training boards handle manpower training in six major commerce and service sectors: accountancy and allied fields; banking; hotel, catering and tourism; insurance; journalism; and wholesale, retail, import and export trades.
The committees examine problems common to all or several industry or commerce sectors, including apprenticeship; instructor training; management and supervisory train- ing; technical training in institutions; translation; and vocational training.
The Hong Kong Training Council also has an ad hoc committee on technologist training. During the year, manpower surveys were conducted by eight training boards: building and civil engineering; clothing; electrical; plastics; textiles; hotel, catering and tourism; insurance; and journalism. The Committee on Instructor Training also conducted a survey to collect information on training of instructors. During the same period, the council approved for publication several survey reports and manuals of job standards and specifications, recommended training programmes and trade tests, most of which are on sale at the Government Publications Centre. To implement industry-wide training schemes devised by the council and its training boards, the government has reserved sites to house two training centre complexes.
The Clothing Industry Training Authority and the Construction Industry Training Authority are statutory bodies appointed by the Governor in 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 Construction Industry Training Authority collects a levy based on the value of all construction work undertaken in Hong Kong. The revenues are used to maintain the Clothing Industry Training Centre and the Construction Industry Training Centre, which provide practical training in key occupations for the clothing and construction industries.
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 enter into a contract of apprenticeship when engaging an untrained or not fully trained young person, aged between 14 and 18 years, in a designated trade. The contract must be registered with the Commissioner for Labour. Employers of apprentices engaged in non-