III. Vocational and Professional Education and Training
Mr CHAN Chun-ying declared that he was the Chairperson of the Banking Industry Training Advisory Committee (“ITAC”) of the Qualifications Framework (“QF”).
Developing vocational progression pathways
Members noted that EDB had launched the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (“HKQF”) to enhance the promotion of VPET. Apart from students, VPET was also designed for working people to attain professional and academic qualifications. A question was raised as to whether EDB had collaborated with the Labour and Welfare Bureau in the promotion/implementation of VPET to meet the needs of the working adults.
The Administration advised that HKQF targeted students as well as the working population. For example, the Recognition of Prior Learning mechanism had been introduced under HKQF to recognize work experiences and competencies acquired by practitioners at the workplace. On VPET, EDB had been collaborating with the relevant policy bureaux/departments (“B/Ds”) in promoting VPET. ITACs comprised, amongst others, representatives from different B/Ds to further enhance the professional standards of the industries. Seventeen government departments had been invited to participate in the first cohort of QF’s new initiative “QF in Action”. In fact, more and more B/Ds had applied QF in different aspects to enhance the quality of service and manpower development, such as the Civil Service Bureau which had made reference to QF in recruitment and several disciplined forces which had launched training programmes that were recognized by HKQF.
Members noted that the Government had set up ITACs for 23 industries for the implementation of QF and would continue to reach out to stakeholders of industries not yet covered by QF. Information was sought on the Administration’s plan and progress in setting up more ITACs.
The Administration advised that ITACs which consisted of representatives of employers, employees, professional bodies and regulatory bodies of the relevant industries had provided platforms for stakeholders to implement QF and to exchange views on the training needs and manpower development of industries. Hence, the setting up of ITAC was more appropriate for industries that were mature with well-established standards. The Administration kept reaching out to stakeholders of industries not yet covered by QF and had not set any target on the number of ITACs to be established.