14
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1986
+ THE EXISTENCE OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE IN HONG KONG TO MEET INDUSTRY'S NEEDS IS READY PROOF OF THE GOVERNMENT'S EFFECTIVENESS IN THIS REGARD, HE SAID,
MR HO ALSO NOTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT INVESTED HEAVILY IN THE WORKFORCE FOR INDUSTRY THROUGH MANPOWER TRAINING.
+WITHIN THE GENERAL POLICY OF NINE YEARS FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION, INCREASING PROVISION HAS BEEN INCLUDED FOR PRE-VOCATIONAL SCHOOL PLACES WHICH BETTER PREPARE THE SCHOOL-LEAVERS FOR PRACTICAL EMPLOYMENT. THE PROVISION FOR 12 960 SUCH PLACES WILL BE INCREASED TO 28 000 BY 1991.
+LIKEWISE, THE NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENT PLACES AT TECHNICAL INSTITUTES OPERATED BY THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL WILL INCREASE FROM THE CURRENT PROVISION OF ABOUT 18 000 TO ABOUT 25 000 BY 1989.
+APART FROM SUPPORTING FORMAL APPRENTICESHIP SCHEMES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY, THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL ALSO PROVIDES A NUMBER OF INDUSTRY-WIDE TRAINING SCHEMES FOR PRACTICAL TRAINING AT OPERATIVE, CRAFT, TECHNICIAN AND TECHNOLOGIST LEVELS AND IN ADDITION, FOUR NEW TRAINING CENTRES WILL BE ESTABLISHED THIS YEAR.+
AT THE TERTIARY LEVEL, MR HO SAID GRANTS TO THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, THROUGH THE UPGC, WOULD COME CLOSE TO $2 BILLION THIS YEAR AND THERE WOULD BE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE THIRD UNIVERSITY WITH ITS INITIAL TARGET OF 5 000 PLACES AND ROOM FOR 10 000 PLACES ON FULL DEVELOPMENT.
ASIDE FROM MANPOWER TRAINING MR HO NOTED THAT HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT FACILITIES INCLUDED AN ON-GOING PROGRAMME OF TECHNO-ECONOMIC AND MARKETING STUDIES OF VARIOUS INDUSTRIES.
+STUDIES HAVE BEEN MADE OF THE METALS AND LIGHT ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES, THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY AND THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY, AND A STUDY ON THE TEXTILES, GARMENTS AND RELATED INDUSTRIES WILL BEGIN NEXT MONTH.
+PARTLY AS A RESULT OF THESE STUDIES AND OF THE APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT, THE GOVERNMENT HAS INTRODUCED OR IS SEEKING TO CREATE A RANGE OF DIRECT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR MANUFACTURERS.
+THESE INCLUDE THE SERVICES OF THE HONG KONG DESIGN INNOVATION COMPANY LIMITED, A COMPANY INCORPORATED IN OCTOBER 1985 TO PROVIDE MANUFACTURERS WITH CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR PRODUCT DESIGN AND PRODUCT INNOVATION,
MR HO SAID ON THE ADVICE OF THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD (IDB) THE GOVERNMENT HAD ALSO CREATED A RANGE OF TECHNICAL BACK-UP SERVICES FOR MANUFACTURERS AND THESE INCLUDED THE CREATION OF THE STANDARDS AND CALIBRATION LABORATORY TO BE THE CUSTODIAN OF HONG KONG'S PRIMARY STANDARDS.
THE INDUSTRY