XN000022-1996-12-03 — Page 6

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Proposals to revamp Employees Retraining Scheme

The Government proposes to revamp the Employees Retraining Scheme so that it will focus primarily on providing retraining for the hard core of the unemployed, who are aged 30 and above and have no more than lower secondary education.

The Government also proposes to extend the ERS to cover new immigrants by introducing into Legislative Council a bill on December 18 to amend the Employees Retraining Ordinance.

These proposals are part of the recommendations contained in a consultation paper on the review of the ERS which was published today (Tuesday). The review was launched in April this year with a view to improving the effectiveness of the ERS in meeting the requirements of employers and retraining needs of the local workforce.

The Government also proposes to make a capital injection of $500 million into the Employees Retraining Board in the current financial year, so as to enable it to implement the proposed expanded and enhanced retraining programme.

The other major recommendations of the review include:

transferring ERB's role in skills upgrading for the employed to the Vocational Training Council (VTC) in phases;

gradually phasing out the existing On-the-Job programme:

introducing a placement-tied and performance-based payment system for the training bodies, so as to encourage training bodies to find jobs for their trainees;

replacing the existing retraining allowance by a new allowance of $500 aimed at meeting the travelling and meal expenses incurred by a retrainee whilst undergoing retraining; and

evaluating the number and composition of the training bodies with a view to improving their effectiveness and monitoring their performance and quality.

Speaking at a press conference this (Tuesday) afternoon to announce the results of the review of the Employees Retraining Scheme(ERS), the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong said the proposals were put forward after taking into account the outcome of the review of the ERS and the results of the recent strategic and organisational review of the VTC conducted by the Government.