Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1964-1965 — Page 55

being opened; one course for twenty workers, which had begun in January 1964, was completed in May, and a second for another twenty began in July and finished in November; in January 1965 two more courses, each for twenty workers, were started. This should mean an output of eighty nursery workers with training in the year 1965. In addition, seventy- three workers attended four introductory courses in Social Work given. on two levels for welfare assistants with secondary school education and for graduates without professional training. Altogether forty different voluntary agencies and three Government departments sent a total of one hundred and thirty-three members of their staff for training in one or other of the five courses.

106. Training officers have now begun to plan 'refresher' study groups for nursery supervisors and workers who had training two or more years ago. The first one opened on 30 March, and at least three more are planned. The Training Unit has also begun some staff develop- ment programmes for the Department, for example monthly case-seminars for fourteen senior officers; similar ones are now being planned for officers from community and social centres. Another significant new function has been to assist to plan and to give a training course to twenty newly employed field workers of the Hong Kong Family Planning Associa- tion. This kind of co-operative planning and teaching could be extended to other voluntary agencies if training staff is increased.

107. The Social Work Training Fund received no further capital contribution during the year but succeeded in meeting all its immediate commitments from income. At the close of the financial year, the Fund's capital remained intact at $3,500,000. The grants during the year were used mainly to continue the support of the academic courses at the two Universities and the in-service training courses sponsored by the Depart- ment. In addition, grants were approved to set up a social work film library to be housed in the Training Unit and to assist two individual social workers to further their studies at the University of Toronto and the University of Hong Kong. One voluntary agency was given a grant to help in setting up its own training courses. Total allocation from the Fund amounted to $184,013.58 as against $132,157.61 in the preceding year. The functions and membership of the Fund's Committee are set out at Appendix 5; full information is contained in a separate report by the Trustee of the Fund.

108. The Advisory Committee on Social Work Training (see also Appendix 5) met twice during the year to consider a series of questions

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