AUGUST 21; 1969
prepares trainees for employment under five main job classi- fications: commercial, industrial, services, agriculture and marine. It is widely accepted that the best method of train- ing craftsmen is a properly organised apprenticeship scheme. which involves a balance of theoretical and practical training. Non ticipation by industrialists has serious implications for it denies trainee craftsmen proper facilities for the practical side of their training.
Of the 1.5 million people assessed as economically active, in Hongkong, it is estimated that at the end of 1968 more 'than 590,000 were engaged in manufacturing.
When em- ployment in the construction industry and other non-registered industrial workers are taken into account, the figure is probably closer to 750,000. Recent surveys of manpower have shown that the ratio of technicians skilled craftsmen : unskilled workers in the manufacturing sector is 1: 1.5: 13, indicating that of every 100 persons employed, only 10 are skilled crafts-
'men.
It is estimated that for replacing retiring staff and for future expansion needs, the labour force requires a further 2,500 technicians and 6,500 craftsmen each year. At present, Hongkong enjoys a high level of economic prosperity. Plainly the time is ripe to invest in manpower development. This has been realised to some extent. Technicians need secondary school education, preferably at a secondary technical school, and the newly introduced three-year pre-vocational training scheme in secondary schools recognises the need and should prove suitable.
* 19%
In any industrial organisation there are five levels of em- ployment though variations exist according to the size and nature of the firm. In the top bracket are technologists with... a university-technological background; second are technicians, the products of technical education or apprenticeship schemes; third are craftsmen with skills acquired in apprenticeship and theoretical training; fourth are operatives and semi-skilled workers trained through on-the-job training; fifth are unskilled, workers for whom little or no training is required. At present the Government accepts the major responsibility for training the first and second categories. The third division comes under the Education Department as far as institutional work is concerned but otherwise it is the task of the Labour Depart- ment (in consultation with advisory organisations),, industry' and other interested government departments.
Unfortunately, the breakdown of responsibility for crafts- man training was not initially defined by the Government.
The Government has taken over responsibility for theoretical training of apprentices and some basic practical training, but progress on an Apprenticeship Bill has been sluggish.
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FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
This has prompted industrial leaders to suggest both theoretical and practical industrial training should be provided from public funds and to go on suggesting it. More recently, the Government has made it clear that it would take charge of the theoretical part of the training in the form of institu- tional courses only (these include basic practical training). On apprenticeships "the responsibility for practical training rests squarely on the shoulders of industry", said the Com- missioner of Labour, R. M. Hetherington, in March. The Government has now started to implement its own proposals along these lines and the first Technical Institute will provide craftsman training courses from September. These will be moved to premises at Morrison Hill early next year.
The training of skilled craftsmen in Hongkong should undoubtedly be a shared undertaking between the Government and industry. To expect the taxpayer to subsidise specialised industrial training seems unreasonable when industrialists, who are the main beneficiaries, could very well afford to organise and run such schemes. Morcover, institutional training cannot rival on-the-spot tuition. There are three main methods of teaching a worker the necessary skills; he can learn by the traditional method of picking up the skill on the job without any formal theoretical training, by attending full-time training in an industrial training or vocational training centre, or by properly organised and supervised apprenticeship schemes, including attendance at full- or part-time theory classes in specialist institutions.
The first method, exclusively on-the-job training, has been widely used locally in the past but has not proved satis- factory. The level of skill produced is generally low and adaptability to new techniques is poor. Further, educational entry qualifications are not high and, other than nepotisın, there is no laid-down selection system. The choice between adopting the second way, training at a centre, and the third, properly organised apprenticeship schemes, depends on the local situation. In a country which has no skilled craftsmen and no workshops and machinery, there is no alternative to institutional training, On the other hand, where adequate facilities exist, it has been found that the best way to produce a craftsman is by the apprenticeship method with the public authorities generally providing the theoretical training. This method is actually recommended by the International Labour.. Organisation. Hongkong has the facilities. Craftsmen in the workshops are available to pass on their practical skills to apprentices and they have the machinery and equipment for the purpose.
Logically, industry should be swamping the Government with men under practical training, demanding places in technical institutes for them to undergo theoretical training.. Instead government officials are having to urge industrialists to organise training schemes and on-the-job apprenticeship and so far without much success. Why the reluctance by industry to see where its own best interests lie? The main reason appears to be the hope that the Government will give way to mounting pressure and organise industrial training on a scale which will allow industrialists to escape their res ponsibilities.
Recently one leading industrialist claimed that the Govern- ment's policy of providing institutional training with industry giving practical groundwork would not function properly in Hongkong, notably in the training of craftsmen in the various basic engineering skills. This is obvious; not all industrial undertakings are suitable for operating apprenticeship training for engineering craftsmen. It is further argued that unless an industrial concern is" of a 'minimum economic size it is not
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