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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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question on the training received by staff and under what circumstances one is transferred to another post, let me describe below:
Training
The main role of Cultural Services Managers in the provision of cultural services is to function as an arts administrator, not as an artist. Therefore, the emphasis of the vocational training programmes provided for them is on arts administration. These include:
(i) local in-house programmes-the USD Training School holds regular talks and seminars by experts on topics such as Art Marketing, Festival Management and Copyright Knowledge;
(ii) local commissioned programmes-a Diploma Course in Professional Programme in Arts Management, which is a two-year part-time course conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the one and only professional training course in arts administration in Hong Kong, is provided for Assistant Managers/Managers; and (iii) overseas attachment training-USD sends about four to five senior members of the grade overseas each year to attend international conference and for attachment training to renowned performing arts institutions and venues so that they can acquire up-to-date arts administration knowledge and skills.
Moreover, members of the grade are encouraged to frequently attend performances of all arts forms as well as seminars and workshops so that they have a wide knowledge and understanding of the arts.
Posting
Cultural Services Managers are regularly rotated to different arts administration jobs in USD and RSD to increase their exposure to different aspects of the profession. The all-round experience thus acquired helps the Cultural Services Manager to work better with artists and understand their needs and problems. There is a general guideline relating to the duration of a Cultural Services Manager in a post which varies according to the rank as follows:
two years-Assistant Managers, Cultural Services three years-Manager, Cultural Services
four years Senior Manager, Cultural Services
However, in practice, this is flexibly followed. Cultural Services Managers may be allowed to stay in their posts longer or shorter than the stipulated period. This is to take into account expertise and aptitude of an officer in a particular field, and above all, special service requirements and operational needs. Posting is not handled at random. The posting policy is devised by the joint staff committee of USD and RSD. For 'career posting', consideration is given continually by the Chief Executive Officers of the two municipal departments. This is my reply to Mr. CHAN's question.
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Page 39 of 498