***************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (June 1):
Question:
The Chief Executive stated in his 2016 Policy Address that the Government supports "major vocational and professional education and training providers to organise large-scale skills competitions to select representatives of Hong Kong to take part in world skills competitions". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the large-scale skills competitions to be organised by vocational and professional education and training providers in the coming five years which the authorities plan to support, with a breakdown by occupation; the respective modes of support and estimated amounts of subsidies involved; and
(2) given that at present, quite a number of large-scale skills competitions organised or co-organised by trade unions are highly regarded by the relevant sectors (e.g. the Chinese Cross-straits Fashionable Hairstyling and Make-up Competition, the Hong Kong and Macau Professional Cooking Competition and the Hong Kong Welding Vocational Skills Competition), whether the Government will consider giving full support to these skills competitions, e.g. by providing subsidies, assisting in their publicity, providing free venues for holding such competitions and sending officials of policy bureaux to attend the activities concerned; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In June 2014, the Government set up the Task Force on Promotion of Vocational Education (Task Force) with a view to mapping out a strategy to promote vocational education and training in the community. The Task Force submitted its report to the Government in July 2015 recommending a three-pronged strategy with a total of 27 recommendations. One of the recommendations was that the Government should continue to support major providers of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) in organising large-scale skills competitions to showcase VPET students' achievement and provide interactive activities for secondary school students' experience, or even consider bidding for the hosting of such competitions in Hong Kong in due course with a view to raising public awareness of the professionalism of VPET and related industries as well as enhancing the skill level of local talent. In the 2016 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that the Government accepted all the recommendations of the Task Force and would actively consider how to implement them.
My reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon KWOK Wai-keung is as follows:
(1) The Government has supported VPET providers in organising skills competitions by providing subsidies, assisting in promotion, and/or sending officials to attend such activities, etc. In response to the recommendations of the Task Force, in the coming five years, the Government is expected to continue supporting major VPET providers in organising large-scale skills competitions, including the WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition, covering a wide range of industries such as Manufacturing and Engineering, Information Technology, Arts and Fashion, Catering Services, Automotive Technology and Beauty Care, etc. The means of support are expected to be the same as set out above and the amounts of subsidies involved are to be determined.
(2) The Government understands that quite a number of skills competitions are organised or co-organised by trade unions and has offered support through various means as appropriate. For instance, senior Government officials have attended the Award Presentation Ceremony of the Hong Kong and Macau Professional Cooking Competition and the Hong Kong Welding Vocational Skills Competition. Besides, the Qualifications Framework (QF) Secretariat under the Education Bureau was the supporting organisation for the Hong Kong Welding Vocational Skills Competition 2016 and provided funding support for promotion. In addition, the Hong Kong and Macau Professional Cooking Competition and the Chinese Cross-straits Fashionable Hairstyling and Make-up Competition have been included among the designated learning activities for the Award Scheme for Learning Experiences under QF for the Catering and Beauty industries respectively since 2013. A total of seven awardees of the Beauty industry have participated in the Chinese Cross-straits Fashionable Hairstyling and Make-up Competition since 2013 and received prizes totalling HK$210,000.
Looking ahead, the Government will consider whether and how to support the skills competitions in the light of their nature, scales, etc.
Ends/Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:59
NNNN
