XN000022-1976-01-07 — Page 8

Wednesday, January 7, 1976

If the Bill was passed into law, Mr. Price said he would introduce

regulations to provide for detailed terms and conditions to be included in

an apprenticeship contract.

He told the Council that he would consult the Hong Kong Training

Council before tendering advice to the Governor in respect of raising the

upper age limit in the definition of a "young person", or specifying a

trade or occupation as a designated trade.

The Commissioner went on to say that the Training Council at its

meeting on January 13 would decide which trades to recommend in the first

instance for designation by the Governor.

This first batch of trades would be selected on the basis of the

degree of skills involved, their numbers and importance to industry, and

with regard to the availability of related technical education facilities.

He assured the Council that ample notice would be given before a

trade was designated, and that the law would be enforced with discretion

in the early stages.

Officers of the Labour Department's Industrial Training Division,

he added, would assist to the greatest possible extent any employer who

needed help in understanding or carrying out the requirements of the Bill.

On the need for this proposed legislation, Mr. Price pointed out

that about 2,500 craft apprentices and 500 technician apprentices were now

undergoing adequate training in voluntarily registered schemes.

But according to the latest manpower surveys, about 15,000 apprentices

or trainees at the craft level and 2,000 at the technician level were under

some form of training. "These figures clearly show that many apprentices

or trainees are not receiving proper training."

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