5.1 The pursuit of VPET does not stop as students exit the education system.
The Government is committed to supporting lifelong learning and providing pathways for young people to seek higher qualifications after joining the workforce. In this increasingly digitalised society, there is need for in-service personnel to continuously upskill and update themselves of the latest industry development in order to sustain their competitiveness and progress along the career ladder. In this light, education and training pathways for VPET have to be further expanded and enriched beyond the formal education system, as underpinned by professional and vocational qualifications that are well-recognised within the trades. To cope with the rapid transformations in the workplace, these pathways should offer greater flexibility for learners in terms of their learning mode and curriculum to quickly react to changes in market demands. Hence, the Task Force sees a need to develop vocational progression pathways for practitioners.
Major Views Collected during Public Consultation
5.2 The respondents generally agree that clear vocational progression pathways should be developed to recognise the skill-based competence and qualifications attained by practitioners in the industries. Within this context, a number of submissions also remark that the Government should support members of the working population, apart from students, in need of upskilling or reskilling to pursue VPET programmes to facilitate their career advancement or transition.
5.3 From the consultation sessions and written submissions received, the respondents generally agree that the QF provides a solid foundation for recognising skill-based competence and qualifications, especially those qualifications acquired outside learning programmes. A majority of the respondents support the development of QF-recognised skill-based qualifications pathways for practitioners which run parallel to the existing academic routes, in order to facilitate articulation and transfer between the academic and professional pathways. Since the QF plays an important role in
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enhancing the promotion and development of VPET in Hong Kong, some of the respondents urge the Government to review how the QF can be more widely applied to promote the importance of vocational qualifications. Some respondents also consider that the Government should take the lead in encouraging the use of the QF in recruitment and training across different bureaux and departments (B/Ds).
Development of a Vocational Route under the QF
5.4 At present, about 8 000 qualifications are recognised under the QF.
All QF-recognised qualifications are acquired through the completion of learning programmes, except for the following two types of qualifications –
(a) qualifications obtained through the RPL mechanism, where work experiences and competence acquired by practitioners at the workplace are recognised without undergoing a learning programme. At present, there are about 700 RPL qualifications; and
(b) qualifications obtained through the recognition of professional qualifications under the QF, where such qualifications are granted by bona fide local organisations to individuals who meet the requisite academic qualifications plus prescribed years of industry or professional experience and have passed a robust assessment in either a written or practical format, and not underpinned by an associated learning programme. At present, there are 16 professional qualifications under the QF.
5.5 While the RPL qualifications and professional qualifications under the QF are available to recognise such skills, competence, and work experiences, no clear progression pathways are available for aspiring entrants and in-service practitioners. Therefore, the Task Force recommends that progression pathways similar to the Vocational Qualifications Pathways (VQPs)37 should be developed for practitioners with a focus on QF-recognised skill-based
37 Since 2017, the VQPs have been developed for four industries (automotive, banking, property management, and elderly care service industries) under the QF to set out roadmaps for progression in learning and employment, along which learners and practitioners can progress at various levels through the completion of relevant occupation-based learning programmes.
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qualifications that are not underpinned by associated learning programmes.
5.6 As a start, the Task Force recommends that the Government should explore with relevant industries, regulatory and professional bodies as well as training institutions to develop professional qualifications pathways in selected industries (e.g. lift and escalator engineering, plumbing engineering, arboriculture and horticulture, etc.). The Government and the QFS should assist in providing advisory support, if necessary, to help the regulatory and professional bodies and/or institutions to go through the accreditation processes for obtaining the QF recognition. The proposed professional route for practitioners should complement the existing academic and vocational route to provide flexible progression opportunities both along and across routes, as shown at Chart 5.1 below.
Chart 5.1 Proposed Professional Route for Practitioners alongside the Existing Academic and Vocational Routes
5.7 The public awareness and acceptance of the QF is the key to promoting QF-recognised skill-based qualifications. The Task Force considers that it is difficult to promote the concept of the QF alone to students and parents, and the promotion of the QF should go hand-in-hand with that of VPET, emphasising
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that the QF provides quality assurance for VPET pathways and their qualifications. The Task Force also notes that more and more Government B/Ds have adopted the QF in recruitment and in-house training policies38 . These efforts will have a positive impact on the public’s perception about the relevance and importance of the QF. For example, the Social Welfare Department has introduced the Training Subsidy Scheme for Staff of Residential Care Homes to provide subsidies to home managers, health workers, and care workers to enrol in QF-recognised training courses. In this connection, the Task Force recommends that the Government encourage more stakeholders, including Government B/Ds and industry partners, to adopt the QF.
Support for Working Adults to Attend Professional Part-time Programmes 5.8 A comprehensive vocational pathway should provide multiple entry and exit points to allow full-time VPET students as well as in-service practitioners to pursue skills upgrading and progression in vocational qualifications. With adequate support and training, working adults in industries with acute manpower needs at the technician, para-professional, and professional levels can make greater contribution to the sectors’ development.
5.9 In addition to the subsidies provided through the Continuing Education Fund and courses provided by the ERB, the Government has launched the Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Students of Professional Part-time Programmes through the VTC to encourage working adults to pursue higher qualifications. According to the interim review conducted by the VTC on the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme, a vast majority of students agree that the subsidy gives them a strong incentive to pursue further training to sharpen their technical skills. The Pilot Scheme currently only covers programmes of three disciplines, namely architecture and town planning, engineering and technology, and creative disciplines. As rapid technological advancement brings about disruptions to the workplace, the need for continuous upskilling of the workforce will only continue to surge. In this regard, the promotion of VPET to equip working
38 For example, the Hong Kong Police College, the Hong Kong Customs College, and the Correctional Services Department have been organising QF-recognised in-house training programmes. The Education Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Housing Department, and the Civil Engineering and Development Department have been featuring references to the QF in their recruitment advertisements and tendering documents.
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adults with the emerging work skills would be of paramount importance. Thus, the Task Force recommends that the Government consider expanding the Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Students of Professional Part-time Programmes to cover a wider range of designated professional part-time programmes offered by the VTC as well as other VPET institutions. Further consideration should be given to ascertain the scope of programmes to be covered, while adhering to the established principle of including trades facing keen manpower demand as well as with a comparatively high and specialised skill requirement.
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