ENG-1958 — Page 383

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

forming the keystone for the new salaries structure derived from the 1953 Salaries Commission's Report. The appointment was announced in November 1958 of a Salaries Commission, which will begin work early in 1959, to consider and submit recom- mendations for the revision of the salaries and other emoluments of all public officers in Hong Kong.

Training. Most departments have organized schemes for the basic training of newly-recruited officers in their work and in many cases schemes provide training with a view to the improvement of efficiency and the acquisition of further knowledge or qualifica- tions. A survey carried out during the year revealed that there are sixty eight different schemes for local training of government servants. Most departments provide their own instructors and training staff, although in a few instances the facilities of the Technical College or the University, and specially qualified outside lecturers, are used. Among the schemes which provide for new recruits are those for air traffic control officers, revenue officers and inspectors, firemen and firemen drivers, health and labour inspectors, launch coxswains and engineers, nurses, midwives, health visitors, police constables and inspectors, prison warders and leaders, taxation officers, radiographic assistants and radio- graphers, laboratory assistants, dispensers, apprentice engineers and architects, assistant clerks and inspectors of works. Part-time training classes out of office hours are provided for clerical officers, postal clerks and storekeepers. There are apprenticeship schemes in the Public Works and Printing Departments and the Kowloon- Canton Railway. An important scheme for the training of teachers at Teacher Training Colleges is organized by the Education Department.

Apart from local training, increasing use is being made of special courses of instruction in the United Kingdom and other overseas countries. The main purpose of this type of training is to fit local officers for promotion to higher posts; a secondary aim being to provide the opportunity for overseas officers, whilst on vacation leave in their home country, to familiarize themselves with the latest developments in their profession or to acquire further specialized experience. As part of this training programme 67 local officers were sent abroad during 1958 on courses of instruction and 34 overseas officers attended courses while on