THE HONG KONG AND FAR EAST BUILDER
THE HONG KONG TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Of the many activities of the Hong Kong Government carried on almost unknown, and certainly unappreciated by the general public, the Hong Kong Technical College is one of the most valuable.
Mr. G. White, B.Sc., A.M.I.Mech.E., the Principal, and Mr. N. J. Bebbington, the Chief Instructor, Building, most kindly gave several hours of their time to showing us round the college and explaining its history, present activities and future programme.
The college provides diploma courses in Building Con- struction, marine and Heavy Engineering, Motor Engineer- ing and Wireless Telegraphy.
The Building Construction course was commenced in 1938 and only two complete three year classes were passed through. Or the thirty-one students who passed the Diploma Examinations in 1940 and 1941, 13 are employed by the Hong Kong Public Works Department, two by the Air Ministry Director General of Works, one by the Air Ministry, one by the Chinese Government, one by Credit Foncier d'Extreme-Orient, one by Hong Kong Land Invest- ment Co., Ltd. One is now running his own contracting firm and the rest are employed by various Hong Kong con- tractors, at least one as manager. This is eloquent proof of the success of the training.
The course has been very carefully planned to give a sound and thorough knowledge of every aspect of building construction.
For eight months of each year the student attends the college from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The mornings are spent in the classroom on theory, the afternoons in the workshops practising what was studied in the morning. For example, a brick arch will be designed in the mornings, and in the afternoons the centering will be constructed in the carpen- ters' shop and the arch actually built in the bricklayers' shop. The aim is not to produce a craftsman, but suffi- cient practical work is put in to enable the mind more easily to remember methods and terms and to enable the student to understand the properties of materials and to appreciate the kind of dithculties faced by the tradesman
etc.
The remaining four months of the year are split into two periods of two months each. The student must spend the whole of this time with either a contractor or an archi- tect. The contractor or architect must guarantee that the student will be kept on a job of work the whole time. The purpose of these two month periods is to ensure that the student will be kept in frequent and close touch with actualities and to guard against the danger of developing a "class-room complex" through too continuous a study of theory. A condition laid down by the P.W.D. in pre-war days, and apparently welcomed by the contractors, was that on every P.W.D. contract let out for H.K.$100,000.00 or more at least two of the students from the current course should be employed.
Mr. White and his staff found their fine building and workshops thoroughly looted on their return in 1945 and since then have laboured to reconstruct the premises and obtain machinery and tools. Most of the machines have now been delivered but hand tools, particularly wood chisels, are still short. A complete woodworking machine shop will eventually be installed.
In addition there is a laboratory for testing concrete cubes, reinforcing steel, etc. with the following:
100 ton Avery Compression Testing Machine, 100 ton Tensometer and Compression Testing Machine, 15,000 in. lb. Torsion Testing Machine, Hounsfield 2 ton Tensometer which will carry out tensile tests on standard cement and sand briquettes; Metallurgical Microscope, Epidiascope and Briquette making tables and sinks, etc.
The standards required in this course are high, the entrance qualification required being not lower than Class 2 of the Hong Kong Government Schools with a high stand- ard of English. The curriculum covers Building Construc- tion. Builders' Quantities. Applied Mechanics including design of simple structures in steel and reinforced concrete, Mathematics, Drawing Office Surveying and extensive work- shop practice. The mathematics goes up to calculus and is approximately equal to Matriculation standard. Owing to the high standards demanded a number of the original en- trants fail by the wayside. At present 24 students are under instruction and there is no doubt that those who go through to take their diploma in two and a half years time will be eagerly welcomed by all those in Hong Kong who aim to achieve a high standard of building construction in the Colony.
GREEN ISLAND CEMENT CO., LTD.
Exchange Bldg.
Hong Kong.
TELEPHONE No. 21463.
Manufacturers of "EMERALD BRAND" Portland Cement to B.S.S. No. 12 of 1947 packed in paper bags of 112 lbs. nett.
SOLE SELLING AGENTS in HONG KONG
and SOUTH CHINA for
CEMENT MARKETING CO., LTD.,
LONDON.
"SNOWCRETE" White Portland Cement
packed in steel drums of 375 lbs. nett.
“COLORCRETE” in various colours. Not stocked but can be obtained by Indent. Packed
in steel drums of 375 lbs, nett.
"SNOWCEM”
Give your factory this smart
lasting, weatherproof finish
51
Snowcem protects the outside of your factory against rain and moisture and improves its appearance. Its clean matt finish used on inside walls and ceilings increases their light- reflection value by at least 20 per cent. Snowcem is hygienic since its washable surface promotes maximum cleanliness and prevents the harbouring of germs,
MSNOWCEM
DECORATIVE
Stocked in
WATERPROOF COATING
WHITE, CREAM AND SILVER-GREY.
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