Vocational training for advanced technology in Hong Kong

Abstract

Presented at the Regional Workshop on Vocational Training for Advanced Technology, Dec. 1-8, 1986 in Chiba, Japan.

Case studies were conducted in industrial enterprises of varying sizes and a university library in Hong Kong that have introduced advanced technology. The studies investigated the management of technological change, vocational training, and human resources development at the workplace, as well as the repercussions on work attitudes, the occupational and skill structure, the educational background of the labor force, the government's labor force policies, and the macro labor market of advanced technology. The studies also focused on the problems of formulating public policies on personnel planning and training at the national level. Analysis of the case studies showed the risks of mismatch between skill supply and demand when the match is administered by a central program, because skill supply requires long-range planning, whereas demand is affected by short-run cyclical variations in export-oriented economies. The analysis also showed another problem that attends the application of modern advanced technology: the specificity of skills, so that enterprises that develop their own mixes of technology and skill may find it increasingly difficult to use external or government-sponsored training facilities at the national level. Finally, the studies pointed to the strategic importance of responsive and flexible training systems in order to avoid imbalances between skill supply and demand. (KC) -- Source from Free online access-ERIC