XN000022-1982-02-25 — Page 9

8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1982

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATES

*****

THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, MR NICKY CHAN, SAID TODAY THAT CIVIL ENGINEERS NEEDED A WIDE RANGE OF GENERAL SKILLS IN ADDITION TO THE IR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IF THEIR WORK WAS TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY,

SPEAKING AT A SEMINAR ON INTEGRATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG UNIVERSITY CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATES+, HE SAID THAT ALONG WITH THEIR ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS, CIVIL ENGINEERS NEEDED TO DEVELOP INITIATIVE, SELF-RELIANCE, ORIGINALITY OF THOUGHT AND GOOD JUDGEMENT.

+GOOD JUDGEMENT, GENERALLY, COMES WITH EXPERIENCE AND MATURITY. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS AS WELL TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE NEED TO EXERCISE THIS CHARACTERISTIC RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING, MR CHAN SAID.

+ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT ARE RECEIVING A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION TODAY, NOT ONLY IN HONG KONG, BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. CLEARLY, THE EXERCISE OF JUDGEMENT IN RELATION TO ENGINEERING SCHEMES AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE COMMUNITY IS ESSENTIAL TO A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER.+

MR CHAN SAID THAT THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WAS ONE OF THE FEW ORGANISATIONS IN HONG KONG ABLE TO OFFER CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATE TRAINING UNDER A SCHEME APPROVED BY THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.

THE PWD IS NOW TRAINING 90 CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATES,

AND COMPETITION FOR PLACES IN THE SCHEME WAS KEEN.

+LAST YEAR A TOTAL OF 344 APPLICATIONS WAS RECEIVED. OF THESE 251 APPLICANTS WERE INTERVIEWED AND THE REQUIRED 30 GRADUATES RECRUITED, + HE SAID.

THE GRADUATES, HE ADDED, GAINED A VARIETY OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE BY WORKING IN PWD OFFICES INVOLVED WITH CIVIL ENGINEERING THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE, CIVIL ENGINEERING OFFICE, RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, GEOTECHNICAL CONTROL OFFICE, WATER SUPPLIES DEPARTMENT AND THE NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

MR CHAN SAID THAT THE AMOUNT BY WHICH A GRADUATE BENEFITTED FROM PWD TRAINING DEPENDED ON WILLINGNESS TO LEARN.

+A GRADUATE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK THE ADVICE OF THE ENGINEER, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DAILY ACTIVITIES, ON MATTERS WITH WHICH HE IS UNFAMILIAR OR UNCERTAIN. HE WILL LEARN A GREAT DEAL BY ASKING QUESTIONS, AND WILL ALSO BE LIABLE TO MAKE FEWER MISTAKES,+ HE SAID.

MR CHAN SAID THAT FROM THIS YEAR, RECRUITMENT OF HONG KONG UNIVERSITY CIVIL ENGINEERING GRADUATES WOULD NOT BE CONFINED TO FILLING VACANCIES IN THE APPROVED TRAINING SCHEME, AND GRADUATES WOULD ALSO BE RECRUITED DIRECTLY TO ASSISTANT ENGINEER RANK.

19