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Development of Technical Education and Training in Hong Kong
Introduction
1.1.
The writer arrived at Kai Tak Airport from Manila late on Friday the 23rd December and was met by Mr. S. Z. Sung, Principal of the Hong Kong Technical College. On Saturday, 24th December he visited the Education Department with Mr. Sung and met the Acting Director of Education Mr. K. J. Attwell and other senior officers. He had preliminary discussions with this group and subsequently with the Assistant Director for Further Education, Mr. T. Kell and Mr. Sung. The following three days were public holidays and were mainly devoted to Scout matters, but the writer had several discussions with Mr. Sung.
1.2.
On Wednesday, 28th December when office work was resumed there were further discussions in the Education Department and a meeting with the Chairman and Secretary of the Industrial Training Advisory Council, Mr. J. T. Wakefield, J.P., the Labour Commissioner and Mr. I. R. Price, Senior Labour Officer, took place. Thursday, 29th December was occupied throughout by a visit to the Technical College and a meeting with the Principal, Vice-Principal and all heads of department. In the evening the writer met a wide selection of prominent people associated with technical education and industry at a cocktail party arranged by the Acting Director of Education. Friday, 30th December was devoted to visits to the Hong Kong Spinners factory and to Sonca Industries factory (electrical and radio components) and Saturday to a discussion with the Assistant Director for Secondary Education and the heads of several secondary technical schools. Monday, 1st January, 1967, was spent reading and writing reports and Tuesday, visiting the Kowloon Technical School and the Tang King Po School. There was a final meeting on Wednesday 4th January at Education Department Headquarters chaired by the Acting Director of Education and attended by all the senior officers. The writer departed for Laos on the Thursday morning.
Manpower Considerations
2.1.
The main industries in Hong Kong include textile and clothing production, plastic goods manufacture, electrical and electronic goods manufacture, construction and engineering; other important activities are shipping and tourism. In the absence of any definitive plan for the development of the economy or its manpower it proved necessary to talk to a wide range of people from Government, from the private sector and from technical and general education in order to form some conclusions regarding future training needs. Thus from a qualitative standpoint the technical education system makes no contribution to the basic training of hotel and restaurant staff despite the growing importance of tourism to the economy. The system will also need in the future to be prepared to offer courses in computer programming and technology, in retail distribution and retail management, in industrial design. More emphasis needs to be placed too, on lower level technician training and on ensuring that technical education arrangements in general are geared more to the needs of industry and less to an examination requirement and at the technician level, acquisi- tion of professional status.
2.2. Changes are always occurring in a virile industry and Hong Kong is no exception to this; new methods are being introduced or new machines, different materials, new forms of energy production. Mechanisation is increasing and shop work tends to become more of a group effort of men possessing a restricted range of specialist techniques. Training for both requirements must therefore involve a broad basis of technical education aiming at a complete understanding of the principles thus facilitating any subsequent re-training. Flexibility in the system of technical education and training is best served by deferring specialisation
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