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Training Authorities

EDUCATION

The Clothing Industry Training Authority and the Construction Industry Training Authority are statutory bodies set up in 1975 to establish and operate training centres for the two industries. The former collects a training levy based on the export value of clothing items and the latter collects a levy based on the value of construction works exceeding $1 million. Two construction industry training centres and two clothing industry training centres are already in operation. A third construction industry training centre is being planned.

Apprenticeship Scheme

The Apprenticeship Ordinance provides a legal framework for the training of craftsmen and technicians. It requires an employer to enter into a contract of apprenticeship when engaging a person aged between 14 and 18 in one of the 42 designated trades specified in the ordinance, unless that person has completed an apprenticeship in the trade. The contract must be registered with the Director of Technical Education and Industrial Training. Contracts for apprentices engaged in non-designated trades or for apprentices aged over 18 engaged in designated trades may also be registered voluntarily with the director.

The Apprenticeship Section of the Technical Education and Industrial Training Depart- ment is responsible for administering the ordinance. Its duties include advising and assisting employers in the training and employment of apprentices, ensuring that the training is properly carried out, helping to resolve disputes arising out of registered contracts, and co-operating with educational institutes to ensure that apprentices receive the necessary complementary technical education. Courses of instruction for apprentices, normally on a part-time day-release basis, are provided at the Hong Kong Polytechnic and the technical institutes.

Apprenticeship contracts registered in 1985 totalled 4 300 of which 900 were for non-designated trades. These contracts covered 3 540 craft apprentices and 760 technician apprentices. By the end of the year, 8 600 apprentices were being trained in accordance with the ordinance.

Vocational Training for the Disabled

Development of vocational training, assessment, technical aids and resource services continued to make steady progress. The total number of vocational training places in both government and subvented centres was increased to 712, while nearly 200 persons completed vocational assessment, one area of expansion being the opening of the $9 million reprovisioned project at Pinehill Village in Tai Po which, apart from increasing the number of training places from 60 to 108, also greatly improves the facilities and conditions for the trainees.

In the technical institutes, over 100 disabled students attend a wide variety of courses at both craft and technician level.

There was an increased demand for the Technical Aids and Resource Centre services and over 40 special aids and machine adaptations were produced during the year. The production of videotaped learning programmes for disabled students and trainees con- tinued and these have proved beneficial in their training, especially to those trainees with hearing impairment or low reading ability.

The first steps in introducing a modular training approach to subvented vocational training centres is well underway, with encouraging results. A boarding fee remission scheme aimed at helping needy disabled trainees was also launched.