ENG-1983 — Page 344

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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The government attaches great importance to the training of civil servants to ensure that officers meet the operational requirements of departments through acquiring the necessary qualifications, knowledge, skills and attitudes. One of the main executive arms for implementing this policy is the Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC). The CSTC runs management training courses to develop skills in administrative procedure, staff perform- ance and the use of resources. During the year, increased emphasis was placed on staff management and staff relations to improve the effectiveness of managers and their work teams. The CSTC also helps departments set up their own training programmes for junior officers and is responsible for financing local and overseas training programmes, including the award of government training scholarships. In May, the CSTC organised a two-day conference on Staff Management in the Civil Service, chaired by the Secretary for the Civil Service and with more than 250 participants, including senior managers from the public and private sectors, and representatives from the academic community and Civil Service staff associations. The CSTC also runs courses in the use of English, Cantonese, Putonghua (Mandarin) and other Chinese dialects, as well as in other languages.

To prepare mid-career officers for wider managerial responsibilities at the directorate level, a working party was appointed by the Governor in 1982 to examine the feasibility of establishing full-time in-service senior staff courses. On the recommendations of the working party, an advisory board was appointed in May to oversee the organisation and running of five full-time and some part-time courses between 1984–6.

Civil Service training during 1982-3 cost about $430 million. This figure included training activities by 96 training schools or units in departments, with CSTC activities comprising about 29 per cent of the total figure. During 1983, about 8 000 officers attended courses run by the centre, 900 officers took training overseas and 14 500 officers attended full-time or part-time day-release courses run by the two universities, the polytechnic and other technical institutes.

Advisory Boards and Committees

A review of the government's advisory boards and committees - an important and distinctive feature of the system of government in Hong Kong - was carried out in early 1983. The main purpose of the review was to make a systematic assessment of the effectiveness of the consultative process and to ensure that the objectives and terms of reference of these bodies are up to date and relevant to present-day Hong Kong. The review also sought to find out whether the size and composition of these bodies is appropriate to their functions, and whether new members are needed to extend the range of unofficial participation.

Of the 323 boards and committees assessed, it was found that the majority are serving a useful function and their terms of reference are valid and relevant to present-day circumstances. A total of about 4000 unofficials are members of these boards and committees, half of which are chaired by unofficials. A conscious effort is being made to introduce new blood and young talent to extend the range and calibre of unofficial participation. This is in keeping with the growing number and importance of advisory boards and committees as the work of the government increases in range and complexity.

In general, advisory bodies may be divided into five categories: statutory bodies which tender advice to a head of department (such as the Pilotage Advisory Committee); statutory bodies which tender advice to the government (such as the district boards); non-statutory bodies which tender advice to a head of department (such as the Labour Advisory Board); non-statutory bodies which tender advice to the government (such as the Fight Crime Committee); and committees which are executive in nature (such as the Air Transport Licensing Authority).