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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1978
REFERRING TO MANPOWER PLANNING IN THE SOCIAL WELFARE FIELD, MR. LEE SAID STEPS WERE BEING TAKEN TO INCREASE THE OUTPUT OF TRAINED WORKERS AND TO DEPLOY TRAINED PERSONNEL ONLY IN JOBS REQUIRING SOCIAL WORK SKILLS, WITH A VIEW TO REDUCING THE PRESENT SHORTFALL.
OPPORTUNITIES IN TRAINING WILL ALSO BE PROVIDED TO ENABLE PROGRESSION FROM ONE CAREER STREAM TO ANOTHER, HE SAID.
WITH REGARD TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHILD CARE WORKERS, MR. LEE SAID THE GOVERNMENT HAD CONSIDERED CAREFULLY THE MANY VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THE PROPOSED RELAXATION OF THESE QUALIFICATIONS.
+IT SHARES THE VIEW OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT FORM III IS A REALISTIC LEVEL WHICH WOULD EASE DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED IN RECRUITING, AND ESPECIALLY IN RETAINING STAFF WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE NEED FOR CHILDREN TO BE ADEQUATELY LOOKED AFTER,+ HE SAID.
IT WOULD ALSO ENABLE FORM 111 SCHOOL LEAVERS WHO ARE TRULY INTERESTED IN CHILD CARE TO HAVE A CAREER IN THIS FIELD AFTER SUITABLE TRAINING, HE ADDED.
HOWEVER, MR. LEE STRESSED THAT FORM I IS PROPOSED TO BE THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATION AND THAT ANY CHILD CARE CENTRE WOULD BE AT LIBERTY TO EMPLOY EXCLUSIVELY PERSONS WITH FORM V ACADEMIC QUAL IF ICATIONS.
THE GOVERNMENT WOULD ALSO CONTINUE TO CALCULATE THE IR ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBVENTIONS ON THE BASIS OF USING FORM V GRADUATES FOR THIS WORK, HE ADDED.
ON CAREER PROSPECTS FOR CHILD CARE WORKERS, HE SAID IF THE PROPOSAL WAS APPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED, TRAINING COURSES WOULD BE PROVIDED FOR THOSE WITH FORM 111 QUALIFICATIONS, WHICH, TOGETHER WITH A SUITABLE PERIOD OF WORKING EXPERIENCE, COULD BE DEEMED TO BE EQUIVALENT TO FORM V EDUCATION, THUS ENABLING SUITABLE CHILD CARE WORKERS TO BECOME SUPERVISORS IN DUE COURSE.
AS REGARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CENTRAL REGISTRY FOR THE DISABLED, MR. LEE SAID IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE SYSTEM IN OPERATION BY 1978-79 AS ORIGINALLY INTENDED, BUT THAT EVERYTHING POSSIBLE WOULD BE DONE TO ENSURE IT BECOMES FUNCTIONAL WITHOUT UNDUE DELAY.
HE EXPLAINED THAT AN INTER-DEPARTMENTAL WORKING GROUP HAD EXAMINED THE DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL AND RECOMMENDED THAT, IN VIEW OF THE POTENTIAL NUMBER OF RECORDS INVOLVED, IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE TO EXPLORE THE USE OF A COMPUTER.
ANY PROPOSAL TO USE A COMPUTER NECESSARILY INVOLVES CAREFUL INVESTIGATION TO ENSURE THAT THE NEED CAN BE DEMONSTRATED AND THAT AN APPROPRIATE SYSTEM CAN BE DEVISED, AND THIS WILL INEVITABLY TAKE TIME, HE SAID.
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