7.55 Surveying Assistants (Land, Engineering, Estate and Planning) are mostly young men with the appropriate academic qualifications, often recruited immediately after leaving school. They all join the service initially at Class III level. Surveying Assistants (Land and Engineering) attend a comprehensive course in land survey for 8 months, while the Estate and Planning streams attend a shorter course. Thereafter, the Surveying Assistants (Engineering) are attached to various functional survey sections for field and practical experience for a period of 12 months before being posted to one of the engineering offices for further in-service training. Surveying Assistants (Land, Estate and Planning) do the whole of their in-service training in Crown Lands & Survey Office. At the end of 3½ years, Surveying Assistants of the four streams sit for a promotion examination and, subject to passing this and satisfactory service, are promoted to Class II at the end of four years.
7.56 Officers recruited in the Surveying Assistant grades, although not pupils, are, subject to holding the necessary academic qualifications, able to take professional examinations. In the 1973 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors examinations, one Surveying Assistant (Engineering) passed the Intermediate; two Student Estate Surveyors passed the Intermediate examination and two Student Estate Surveyors passed the Final examination.
7.57 During the year, 2 Basic Survey Training courses were conducted with a total of 16 Surveying Assistants (Engineering) and 14 Surveying Assistants (Land) attending. Two Basic Cartographic Training courses were also conducted with a total of 17 Cartographic Assistants from this Office and 11 Cartographic Assistants from the New Territories Administration attending. One elementary Survey Training course was conducted with 9 Surveying Assistants (Estate) and 6 Surveying Assistants (Planning) attending. All Surveying and Cartographic Assistants Class III are required to pass a departmental promotion examination before gaining promotion to Class II. Results during the year were as follows:
Sat Passed 7.58 Surveying Assistants (Planning) 1 Surveying Assistants (Estate) 1 Surveying Assistants (Land) 2 Surveying Assistants (Engineering) 3 Cartographic Assistants (C.L. & S.O.) 1 Cartographic Assistants (N.T.A.) 1A limited number of entrants who have the necessary academic qualifications to become Students of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are recruited as Student Estate Surveyors and encouraged to take a correspondence course and to attend evening classes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. Student Estate Surveyors, who were preparing for the Final examination, were permitted to attend a day-release course at the Hong Kong Polytechnic on one day each week.
7.59 Overseas Training Four Assistant Planning Officers were awarded Government Scholarship for two-year post-graduate town planning courses at Universities in Australia; three returned after successfully completing a similar course.
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