ENG-1970 — Page 43

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EMPLOYMENT

Training centres run by some voluntary welfare organisations and government departments offer various forms of pre-vocational or vocational training. These courses vary widely in standards and range from skilled trades to commercial training, domestic science, catering, and handicrafts. The standards of training in these training centres have been much improved as a result of the recommendations by the Industrial Training Advisory Committee and its associated committees.

Apprenticeship systems in Hong Kong fall into either the tradi- tional sector or the modern westernised sector. Under the first system, adopted by many local factories, the recruitment and training of apprentices are haphazard. The latter system, based on the British pattern of apprenticeship, has been followed for many years by government workshops and some of the larger industrial

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concerns.

Since its creation just over a year ago, the Apprenticeship Unit of the Labour Department has concentrated on convincing em- ployers of the need for, and assisting them in, setting up properly organised apprenticeship schemes for the training of technicians and craftsmen. Several firms in the electronics and building in- dustries have adopted such apprenticeship schemes and engaged secondary school leavers as technician apprentices during the year. It is hoped that approved apprenticeship schemes for training production technicians in the garment-making industry, and spinning and weaving technicians in the textiles industry will soon be initiated. At craftsmen level, more than 20 firms in the machine shop and metal working trades, electrical trades and motor trades have either re-organised their training or started training along the lines recommended by the Apprenticeship Unit.

Technical education on a day-release basis forms an essential part of the apprenticeship system proposed by the Apprenticeship Unit. To meet this requirement, the Morrison Hill Technical Institute, which was established in 1969, provided for the first time in 1970 on a part-time day-release basis for craft apprentices four classes in mechanical engineering, four classes in electrical engineering, and five classes in vehicle repairing; and for technician apprentices one class in building construction. The Hong Kong Technical College started two part-time day-release classes for