ENG-1980 — Page 86

58

EMPLOYMENT

Committee on Technical Training in Institutions conducted a survey of employers' views on the part-time day-release courses offered by the Hong Kong Polytechnic and technical institutes. During the same period, the training council approved for publication several survey reports and manuals on job standards, model training programmes and trade tests most of which are on sale at the Government Publications Centre.

The Clothing Industry Training Authority and the Construction Industry Training Authority are statutory bodies appointed by the Governor in September, 1975.

The Clothing Industry Training Authority is empowered to collect a training levy on the total export value of clothing items manufactured in, and exported from, Hong Kong. The Construction Industry Training Authority collects a levy based on the value of all construction work undertaken in Hong Kong. The revenues are used to maintain the Clothing Industry Training Centre and the Construction Industry Training Centre, which provide practical training.

The Apprenticeship Ordinance, which came into effect in 1976, provides a legal frame- work for the training of craftsmen and technicians. The ordinance requires an employer to enter into a contract of apprenticeship when engaging an untrained young person, aged between 14 and 18 years, in a designated trade. The contract must then be registered with the Commissioner for Labour. Employers of apprentices engaged in non-designated trades, or of apprentices over 18 years engaged in designated trades, may also send their contracts of apprenticeship to the Labour Department for voluntary registration.

In August, the trade Hotel Cook (Western Style) became a designated trade, bringing the total number of designated trades to 37. All these trades were recommended for designation by the Hong Kong Training Council.

The Apprenticeship Division of the Labour Department is responsible for administering the ordinance. Its duties include: advising and assisting employers in the training and employment of apprentices; ensuring that the training of apprentices is properly carried out; conciliating in disputes arising out of a registered contract of apprenticeship; and co-operating with technical education institutions to ensure that apprentices receive the necessary complementary technical education.

In 1980, the Apprenticeship Division registered 5,019 apprenticeship contracts, of which 777 were for non-designated trades. These contracts covered 4,516 craft apprentices and 503 technician apprentices. By the end of the year, 10,389 apprentices were being trained in accordance with the Apprenticeship Ordinance.

Courses of instruction for apprentices, normally on a part-time day-release basis, are provided at the Hong Kong Polytechnic and the technical institutes.

In the prevocational and vocational training field, a number of centres providing training in the technical, commercial and catering trades are run by the government and voluntary welfare agencies.