TNAG-2912-FCO40-4187-International-support-from-Asia-regarding-the-future-of-Hong-1993 — Page 45

POLIC

CONFIDENCE

Secretary of State for Employment

b) in all three countries it was apparent there is a great deal more regulation than in the UK system. All operate some form of levy system. It is clear that the government is heavily involved in planning the pattern of provision and there was some worries that this led to a lack of market responsiveness. In Hong Kong, young people working in 42 designated trades are not allowed to be employed unless they have a formal contract of apprenticeship. We need to aim to get the benefits of these approaches without importing the labour market rigidities which are the likely consequence of an over- regulated approach;

5.

c) in all three countries some concern was expressed about the rigid approaches to learning and teaching which are still the norm. It must be said that the standards of attainment achieved were impressively high.

d) in all three countries much concern was expressed about a bias in parental and student preferences towards the liberal arts and away from vocational subjects. The issues of parity of esteem which we are tackling are relevant in the Far East also, and I am convinced that our approach of developing a menu of high-quality offerings for 16 year olds, including a high quality work-based route, is the key to tackling this issue;

e) in Japan and South Korea in particular the position. of women in the labour force was markedly less favourable than in the UK, largely for cultural reasons. There was much interest in our approach to tackling equal opportunities issues, not relying on legislation but setting appropriate targets in the public sector and working through persuasion.

On industrial relations, there was much interest in the approach we have adopted over the last 14 years.

The remarkable improvement in our strike record has been carefully noted, and was seen as an important factor in encouraging inward investment. In particularly in South Korea there was much interest in our step by step approach to industrial relations legislation, and I offered to provide further expert assistance if that would be helpful.

There were also some important bilateral issues arising during my visits.

6.

a) in Japan I established good contact with the new Minister of Labour and laid a firm foundation for cooperation with the Japanese for the forthcoming G7 jobs summit;

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