XN000022-1981-02-22 — Page 4

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1981

TECHNICAL INSTITUTE GRADUATES WELL RECEIVED BY EMPLOYERS

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THE MAJORITY OF FULL-TIME GRADUATES IN THE 1979/80 ACADEMIC YEAR FROM THE FIVE TECHNICAL INSTITUTES WERE EITHER EMPLOYED OR ENGAGED IN FURTHER STUDIES BY LAST OCTOBER, ACCORDING TO A RECENT SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

IN THE SURVEY, QUESTIONNARIES WERE SENT TO THE 1 764 FULL-TIME GRADUATES. SOME 1 134 REPLIES WERE RECEIVED WHICH REPRESENTED A RESPONSE RATE OF 64.3 PER CENT.

*THE NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN THE 1979/80 ACADEMIC YEAR SHOWS AN INCREASE OF 18.9 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID.

ACCORDING TO THE RETURNS, 81.5 PER CENT OF THE FULL-TIME STUDENTS WHO GRADUATED IN JULY LAST YEAR WERE IN EMPLOYMENT AND 12.4 PER CENT WERE FURTHERING THEIR STUDIES WHEN THE SURVEY WAS COMPLETED IN OCTOBER.

+MOREOVER, THE GRADUATES ENJOYED HIGHER STARTING SALARIES THAN THOSE IN THE PREVIOUS SURVEY, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

GRADUATES OF POST-FORM 5 COMMERCIAL AND SERVICES COURSE RECEIVED 19 PER CENT MORE IN THEIR STARTING SALARIES, AND TECHNICIAN GRADUATES OF ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES RECEIVED 22.5 PER CENT MORE, HE SAID.

ABOUT 13.6 PER CENT OF THE TECHNICIAN GRADUATES AND 48.2 PER CENT OF THE CRAFT GRADUATES JOINED THE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME.

PRESS ADVERTISEMENTS, TECHNICAL INSTITUTE CIRCULARS AND TEACHERS WERE LISTED AS THE CHIEF SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR EMPLOYMENT, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

OF THE GRADUATES WHO WENT ON TO FURTHER FULL-TIME STUDIES, 35.5 PER CENT CONTINUED TO STUDY AT THE TECHNICAL INSTITUTES, AND 22.5 PER CENT ENTERED THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC.

ABOUT 90 PER CENT OF THE EMPLOYED GRADUATES WERE ENGAGED IN SOME FORM OF PART-TIME STUDY. OF THESE, 25.9 PER CENT WERE ENROLLED IN PART-TIME DAY-RELEASE COURSES AND 55.9 PER CENT WERE STUDYING EVENING COURSES IN EITHER TECHNICAL INSTITUTES OR THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC.

THE EMPLOYMENT SURVEY HAD BEEN CONDUCTED ANNUALLY SINCE 1975 TO ASSESS THE DEGREE OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE FULL-TIME TECHNICAL INSTITUTE GRADUATES BY INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE, AND TO FIND OUT THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF THE GRADUATES.

IT WAS CONDUCTED AMONG GRADUATES OF MORRISON HILL, KWAI CHUNG, KWUN TONG, HAKING WONG AND LEE WAI LEE TECHNICAL INSTITUTES.

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