ENG-2002 — Page 437

COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

access' is under study and if the outcome is positive, implementation work is expected to start in 2003.

(e) Business Entry Portal: by providing an entry point for the business sector to the different unconnected business-related websites in Hong Kong, this portal, currently under feasibility study, would help businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises, to access necessary business-related information in a more user-friendly way.

In 2001-02, the Government spent $1.013 billion on some 550 computerisation projects. It has put in place a mechanism for fully exploiting business process re- engineering opportunities both within and across bureaux and departments when implementing IT projects. This is to ensure that the benefits of using IT are fully reaped in improving operational efficiency and quality of service, and cross- departmental collaboration in joining up the Government is stimulated so as to better achieve the E-government vision.

IT Manpower

To drive Hong Kong's transformation into an information economy, it is important to build up a competent IT workforce. The Government is committed to providing adequate and quality IT manpower to meet the demand in the community.

The Government has implemented measures recommended by the Task Force on IT Manpower, which was set up under the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee, to groom local IT talent in Hong Kong. If there is a gap or shortage in specific areas, IT talent elsewhere can be recruited to meet the requirement. New initiatives implemented during the year include sponsoring local universities to organise IT-related exchange programmes with overseas tertiary

overseas tertiary institutions, providing internship opportunities for IT students in multinational IT companies, and collaborating with the IT industry and the academic sectors in launching a Secondary Schools IT Training Scheme to provide practical IT training to secondary students as extra-curricular activities.

The Government will continue to work with tertiary institutions and related bodies on other longer term measures to provide sufficient and quality IT manpower in Hong Kong.

Building a Digitally Inclusive Society

The Government encourages the people to embrace and use IT so as to enhance their quality of life. The main target groups are those people who have less opportunity to access IT facilities in their daily lives, such as elders, housewives, new arrivals and people with disabilities.

The Government will continue to implement the 'IT Hong Kong' campaign, which was first launched in September 2000, to promote wider adoption and raise public awareness of IT in the community. This comprehensive campaign consists of district IT promotion activities, free IT awareness courses providing basic training to different sectors of the community, and a dedicated website and 'infotainment' TV programmes to disseminate information on the Government's IT initiatives and latest developments in IT. Moreover, a free public enquiry service called 'IT Easy Link' was launched in June 2002 to deal with enquiries from members of the public on the use of basic applications so as to encourage them and raise their confidence in using IT.

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