Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
In February 2014, the Construction Industry Council formulated a labour-supply list for 26 trades. Regarding the training and supply of workers for those trades, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of training courses provided by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Construction Industry Council (including the training bodies under them) for each of the aforesaid trades from 2014 to October 2015, and the following information of each training course (set out in a table of the same format as the table in Annex 1 for each trade): (i) course name, (ii) training body, (iii) respective total numbers of training places offered last year and this year, (iv) entry requirements, (v) duration of training, and (vi) employment rate of graduated trainees; and
(2) of the number of foreign workers imported from 2014 to October 2015 for each of the aforesaid trades?
Reply:
President,
The Government and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) have all along been committed to strengthening training for local construction workers and attracting more new entrants to join the construction industry. In early 2014, CIC set up the Task Force on Short-term Labour Supply (the Task Force), comprising representatives of the relevant labour unions and trade associations. After thorough discussion, the Task Force identified 26 trades with manpower shortage to reflect the manpower situation of the market. The information would serve as reference for CIC to fine tune their training initiatives to help cope with the keen manpower demand.
My reply to the two parts of the Hon Kwok's question is as follows:
(1) Regarding the 26 trades with manpower shortage, the CIC and the VTC provided training for certain trades in 2014 and 2015. Please refer to Annex 2 for information on the training courses.
(2) Although these training initiatives have been implemented smoothly and have attained certain results, the shortage of skilled construction workers has yet to be fully resolved. Under the premise of upholding priority in employment for local workers, and safeguarding their wage and welfare under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), contractors may consider applying for importation of labour at or below technician level. In April 2014, the Government rolled out enhancement measures to expedite the preparatory works for SLS applications by public sector works contractors involving the 26 trades with manpower shortage. As at the end of October 2015, approval has been granted to import 565 workers in total under the aforementioned enhancement measures. A breakdown by the 26 trades with manpower shortage is provided at Annex 3.
Attachment:
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:23
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