Members of the Education Commission (EC), joined by the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li, visited the Tsing Yi campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) under the Vocational Training Council (VTC) on 25 June 2024 to learn about the latest development of vocational and professional education and training (VPET).
Mr Donald Tong, Executive Director of the VTC, briefed EC members on the VTC’s diverse and internationally-recognised VPET programmes designed for Secondary 3 school leavers, Secondary 6 graduates and in-service practitioners that equip them with professional knowledge and skills.
The EC members then toured the teaching facilities of IVE (Tsing Yi) and exchanged views with the teachers and students to learn about how VTC programmes enrich students’ learning experiences and cultivate their application and innovative capabilities through aligning classroom education with industry needs, collaboration between businesses and education institutions, interdisciplinary co-operation and adoption of innovative technologies. The members also listened to students’ sharing of their campus life and presentations of their projects, including the DriveSense and DriveBox In-vehicle Monitoring System and AI Fencing. They were pleased to learn that students had developed potentials in different professional areas through diversified learning experiences and the dual-track study mode combining classroom knowledge and workplace attachment, equipping themselves to embrace the future opportunities in Hong Kong.
The EC Chairman, Dr David Wong, commended the Government for adopting a multi-pronged approach on various fronts with the strategy of fostering industry-institution collaboration and diversified development to further promote VPET as a pathway parallel to conventional academic education, providing young people with diverse learning and employment opportunities and enabling them to master knowledge and skills required by society and the workplace. He believed that the measures will nurture more high-quality professional and technical talent for contribution to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the country.
Participants of the school visit today included EC members Ir Dr Alex Chan, Dr Anissa Chan, Dr Sylvia Chan, Ms Mimi Cheung, Mr Herbert Chia, Mr Eugene Fong, Mr Kwok Wing-keung, Professor Alvin Leung, Mr Benjamin Ng, Professor Isabella Poon, Dr Winnie Tang, Mr Dieter Yih and Dr Samuel Yung.
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