THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG LIBRARIES. Hong Kong Collection gift from Vocational Training Council

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2 THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG LIBRARIES Hong Kong Collection gift from Vocational Training Council

3 1994 Manpower Survey Report Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Board Vocational Training Council

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5 CONTENTS Section Paragraph Page I Introduction II Summary of Survey Findings III Conclusions IV Recommendations Appendices 111

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7 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Title Page 1. Membership of the Machine Shop and Metal 37 Working Industry Training Board 2. Terms of Reference of the Machine Shop and 40 Metal Working Industry Training Board 3. Distribution of Employees by Branch of the Industry Manpower Statistics of the Industry Preferred Education of Employees Preferred Mode of Training of Employees Preferred Period of Training of Employees Distribution of Employees by Monthly 65 Income Range 9. Number of Managerial Staff with Engineering 69 Education Background 10. Recommended Number of Trainees to be 70 Taken on Annually from 1995 to Questionnaire Explanatory Notes on the Questionnaire Job Descriptions for Principal Jobs in 82 the Industry v

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9 SECTION I INTRODUCTION The Training Board 1-1 The Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Board of the Vocational Training Council is required, among other duties, to determine regularly the manpower situation and training needs of the machine shop and metal working industry, and to recommend to the Council and employers the development of training facilities to meet such needs. The Training Board comprises members who are nominated by relevant employers' associations, workers' union, education and training institutions, or are representatives of relevant government departments. The Board's membership and terms of reference are given in Appendices 1 and 2 respectively. The Survey 1.2 In pursuance of its terms of reference, the Training Board conducted a survey during the period from 8 June to 15 July 1994 to collect the latest manpower information of the machine shop and metal working industry. The survey was carried out with the assistance of the Census and Statistics Department. Scope of the Survey 1.3 The survey covered the following six branches of the industry: (i) basic metal industries (HSIC* ), (ii) manufacture of fabricated metal products, excluding manufacture of metal furniture & fixture (HSIC excluding 3812), (iii) (iv) (v) manufacture of machinery & equipment, except electrical (HSIC 3821, and 3871), manufacture of mechanical watches and clocks including metal cases, dials and parts (HSIC 3892 and 3894), plant maintenance sections of food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industries (HSIC ), and

10 (vi) relevant divisions of technical education institutions, government departments, related public utility and engineering companies. * HSIC - Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification 1.4 In view of the large number of establishments and limited resources, the Training Board adopted a stratified random sampling method to select survey samples out of some establishments in the industry. The data collected were then grossed up statistically to give an overall picture of the manpower situation of the industry. Method of the Survey 1.5 Two weeks before the survey, a questionnaire together with explanatory notes and a list of job descriptions (Appendices 11 to 13) was sent to each of the establishments. Prior publicity was given to the survey in the local press. Assistance was also solicited from the relevant trade and industrial organizations to encourage their members to co-operate in the exercise. 1.6 During the survey period, interviewing officers of the Census and Statistics Department visited the selected establishments to collect the completed questionnaires and, where required, assist employers in completing them. 1.7 All returned questionnaires were scrutinized and, where necessary, checked with the respondents. These questionnaires were then processed by the Census and Statistics Department. Response of Employers 1.8 Out of the establishments, 867 completed the questionnaires and two refused to do so. The remaining 164 establishments either had moved, closed or were no longer engaged in the trade. The Report 1-9 This report presents the survey findings, the Training Board's forecast of the manpower needs of the machine shop and metal working industry, and recommendations on measures to meet these needs. In the report, the terms 'manpower', 'workforce', 'employees' and 'workers' not preceded by 'technical' refer to the total number of persons in employment in the principal jobs other than trainees; the term 'trainees' means all persons receiving any form of training including those under a contract of apprenticeship. When preceded by 'technical', all the above terms refer only to the total number of employees or trainees at the technologist, technician and craft levels.

11 SECTION II SUMMARY OF SURVEY Distribution of Employees by Branch of Industry (Appendix 3) 2.1 At the time of survey, there were workers engaged in 57 principal jobs (Appendix 13) in the machine shop and metal working industry. Their distribution by branch of industry is shown below: Basic Metal Industries Branch of Industry No. of Employees 1507 % of Total No. of Employees 2.9% Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products Manufacture of Machinery & Equipment % 34.1% Manufacture of Mechanical Watches and Clocks Plant Maintenance Sections of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Industries % 1.4% Relevant Divisions of Technical Education Institutions, Government Departments, Related Public Utility and Engineering Companies Total % 100%

12 Distribution of Employees by Job Level (Appendix 4) 2.2 The distribution of employees according to their job levels was: Job Level Male No. of Employees Female Total % of Total No. of Employees I Technologist % Technician % Craftsman % Operative % Unskilled % Managerial % Supervisory % Total % 2.3 Chart 1 shows the comparative distribution of employees by job level based on data obtained from the five manpower surveys conducted since Despite a decline in the total workforce, there has been a gradual percentage increase in the relative employment share of technologists, technicians and craftsmen in the industry, respectively from 1.2% to 2.9%, 7.2% to 10.5% and 36.0% to 50.9%.

13 Chart 1 Comparative Distribution of Employees by Job Level 110 Technologist Technician Craftsman Operative & Unskilled Managerial & Supervisory jn H % % 1.7% 1994

14 Number of Trainees (Appendix 4) 2.4 The survey revealed that there were persons undergoing industrial training, or 2.6% of the technical and operative workforce, and their distribution by job level was: Job Level No. of Employees No. of Trainees % of Employees at Same Job Level Technologist % Technician % Craftsman % Operative % Total % 2.5 The three jobs at the technologist, technician and craftsman levels with the largest number of trainees were: Job Level Technologist Technician Craftsman Job Title Mechanical Engineer Electronics Technician Mould Maker No. of Trainees

15 Preferred Education, Mode of Training and Period of Training of Workers (Appendices 5-7) 2.6 The views of the majority of employers on the preferred education, mode of training and period of training of their employees were: Job Level Preferred Education Preferred Mode of Training Preferred Period of Training Technologist Degree/Higher Diploma On-the-job Training/ Graduate Traineeship 4 years Technician Certificate On-the-job Training/ Apprenticeship 4 years Craftsman Secondary 3/ Craft Certificate On-the-job Training/ Apprenticeship 3 years Operative Secondary 3 On-the-job Training Less than 6 months Managerial Degree On-the-job Training 4 years Supervisory Diploma On-the-job Training 4 years Number of Vacancies at Time of Survey and Forecast of Labour Requirements by June 1995 (Appendix 4) 2,7 Employers reported vacancies, about 2.3% of the total number of employees in the industry. Employers also forecast a labour force of in June 1995, which is employees more than that in June The following is a summary of the information by job level:

16 Job Level Technologist No. of Employees (a) 1466 Number (b) 69 Vacancies Percentage (b) -5- (a) x 100% 4.7% Forecast of Additional Employees by June Technician % 55 Craftsman % 938 Operative % 420 Unskilled % 50 Managerial % 1 Supervisory % 9 Total % Monthly Income Range of Employees 2.8 The distribution of employees by monthly income range is shown in Appendix 8. Number of Managerial Staff with Engineering Education Background (Appendix 9) 2.9 Of the 508 managers revealed in the survey, 352 (or 693%) of them were reported to be engineering degree/associateship/higher diploma holders. 8

17 SECTION in CONCLUSIONS General 3-1 The Training Board has carefully examined the survey findings and considers that they generally reflect the manpower situation of the machine shop and metal working industry at the time of the survey. 3.2 In June/July 1994, the manpower of the industry was , showing a decline of 16.4% (in two years or 8.5% per annum) from the figure recorded in the 1992 survey. The number of trainees also slipped from in 1992 to in An analysis of the manpower changes by job level and by branch of industry is given in the following paragraphs. Manpower Changes by Job Level 3.3 All seven surveys since 1980 show a steady decline in the workforce. As a result of the continued relocation of labour-intensive processing plants to the Pearl River Delta Area of China, there has been a noticeable shrinkage in manpower employed in the local machine shop and metal working industry. Its number of employees has dropped considerably from over in the early eighties to some in The reduction of manpower occurred mainly at the operative and unskilled levels in jobs such as assembler, semi-skilled machine operator, press operator, polishing worker, semi-skilled electroplating and metal coating worker, quality control operator and labourer. Between 1992 and 1994, the total number of workers at these two job levels had decreased by 30.9% from to , i.e. a reduction of persons, which accounted for 78% of the total manpower loss (9 999 persons) of the industry in the last two years. 3.4 The fall in the number of technical manpower was slight as shown below: Job Level 1992 Manpower 1994 % Change Technologist % Technician % Craftsman % As manufacturers continue to move up-market and upgrade their products by applying more advanced technologies, it is expected that there will be an on-going demand for more properly trained technical personnel

18 3 5 The number of employees in some managerial and supervisory jobs of interest to the Training Board had also decreased from in 1992 to 837 in Manpower Changes by Branch of Industry 3.6 With the exception of the branch covering the plant maintenance sections of food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industries, all branches of the machine shop and metal working industry had experienced varying degrees of manpower shrinkage in the past two years. This plant maintenance branch enjoyed a small growth of 2.5% in workforce, increasing from 690 in 1992 to 707 in The basic metal branch continued to contract with its workforce dropping by 27.2% from to in two years. Many of the small-sized companies in this branch had already moved across the border to Southern China to take advantage of the low-cost labour and land for expansion. 3.8 Both the fabricated metal products manufacturing and the mechanical watches and clocks manufacturing branches continued their declining trends which started in the early eighties. Their manpower decreased by 23.8% and 39.4% respectively, from and in 1992 to and in As production processes in these two branches are mostly assembly-oriented and therefore labour-intensive, there is a greater incentive for manufacturers to shift their operations to neighbouring regions with lower production costs. 3.9 For the remaining two branches, the drop in manpower over the last two years was relatively inconsiderable, only 2.2% for the machinery manufacturing branch (from to employees) and 1,1% for the branch covering relevant divisions of technical education institutions, government departments, related public utility and engineering companies (from to employees). Future Manpower Demand 3.10 Employers forecast the total workforce by June 1995 to be , i.e. an addition of workers to the manpower at the time of the survey as compared with the forecast additional requirement of by 1993 in the previous survey. In addition, the number of vacancies reported in June/July 1994 was (as compared with in the 1992 survey). The further reduction in the numbers of forecast additional workers and reported vacancies reflected an overall dampened demand for manpower by employers. However, as manufacturers staying in Hong Kong continue to upgrade their manufacturing facilities and techniques in their attempts to maintain competitiveness, the demand for well-trained technologists, technicians and craftsmen is expected to persist, but that for operative and unskilled workers, to decrease in the coming years, 10

19 3.11 On the basis of past and current survey data and taking into account future developments of the machine shop and metal working industry, the Training Board project the industry's technical manpower requirements in the decade ahead. To compensate for technical workers leaving the industry for whatever reasons, the Training Board has assumed the following wastage rates: Job Level Technologist Technician Craftsman Annual Wastage Rate 7% 5% 5% 3.12 The Training Board's forecast of the additional numbers of technical workers by job level likely to be required by the industry for each of the next ten years is given in Table 1 below: Table 1 Average Anneal Additional Demand for Workers from to 2004 Job Level Technologist Technician Craftsman Average Annual Additional Demand % of the Respective Workforce at the Same Job Level 9% 5% 5% 3.13 In order to review and update the manpower requirements of the industry every two years, the Training Board will conduct its next manpower survey in

20 SECTION IV RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 Manufacturers in the local machine shop and metal working industry had to face rising production costs at home, increasing competition from emerging industrialized economies in the region, and constant demand for ever-higher standards of quality in the world market. They can no longer compete on price and speed of response alone. They had to compete on quality. One of the decisive steps they took was to move away from labour-intensive into high value-added production. In this regard, the Training Board recommends that employers should also take the initiative to strengthen and upgrade their technical workforce if they have not yet done so; as quality manpower training is vital if the industry is to develop and maintain its competitiveness in the global market, and if the industry is to remain as an effective linkage for other rapidly advancing manufacturing sectors. Annual Intake of Trainees 4.2 At the time of the survey, there were only 21, 31 and trainees respectively at the technologist, technician and craftsman levels* Since it takes at least two years to train a technologist and three to four years a technician or a craftsman, the current training efforts by employers are evidently inadequate. In order to ensure a steady supply of well-trained manpower to meet the developing need of the industry and to make up for staff wastage, employers should step up their training efforts considerably. The respective training routes are given in paragraphs 4.6 to The Training Board recommends that the industry as a whole should embark on a training programme of a scale as shown in Table 1 in paragraph A breakdown of the training requirements into various principal jobs is given at Appendix 10* 4*4 For manpower planning at the company level, individual employers are requested to note that the recommended number of trainees they should recruit each year as a percentage of their existing workforce at the respective job level is shown in the last column of Table 1. Training of Technologists 4-5 A technologist is a person who applies his professional skills to a wide range of technical activities and is able to use his knowledge and experience to initiate practical developments. He is expected to accept a high degree of responsibility and, in many cases, to push forward the boundaries of knowledge in his particular field, A technologist should have received education and training equivalent to that required for corporate membership of a professional institution. 12

21 4.6 Technologists play an important role in bringing about management improvements and technological innovations for the industry. It is recommended that technologists should be trained by either of the following two routes: (A) Completion of a relevant degree course leading to exemption from the academic requirements for corporate membership of a recognized professional institution (e.g. the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers) 2-year recognized on-the-job training (B) Completion of a relevant course (e.g. Higher Diploma) Job experience and organized training plus part-time studies and pass the examination of a recognized professional institution A minimum of 2-year experience in a responsible position Technologist Training of Technicians 4.7 A technician is one who occupies a position between the technologist and the craftsman or operative* His education* training and practical experience should enable him to apply proven techniques to solve technical problems. He is expected to carry a measure of technical responsibility, normally under the guidance of a technologist. The routes available for training technicians are: 13

22 (A) (B) (C) Completion of Secondary 5 with passes in the required HKCE subjects Completion of Secondary 5 followed by a full-time technician course Qualified craftsman (see training routes in paragraph 4.8) 4-year organized technician apprenticeship* with attendance at a relevant technician course on a part-time basis A minimum of 2-year organized on-the-job training Further parttime studies through a general course followed by a relevant technician course Apprentices who have satisfactorily completed a relevant one^year full-time technician foundation course in an industry training centre may be exempted from ttel of e nm year OI a technician apprenticeship. 14

23 Training of Craftsmen 4.8 A craftsman is a worker who has a high degree of practical skills and, in a modern context, is also expected to have sound technical knowledge which enables him to acquire new skills to cope with new technologies. He needs to have a general education standard of about Secondary 3. The routes for training craftsmen are: (A) Completion of a relevant oneyear full-time craft foundation course run by the Vocational Training Council, or a relevant 3-year full-time course in a prevocational school (B) Completion of Secondary 3 (C) Semi-skilled workers 3-year organised craft apprenticeship with attendance at a relevant part-time day release or block release craft course 4-year organised craft apprenticeship with attendance at a relevant part-time day release or block release craft course Further training and studies and pass a relevant trade test 4.9 Route (A) is recommended not only because the period of training is shorter but also because the apprentice will have already had some basic training prior to commencing his apprenticeship and is therefore capable of doing useful and productive work soon after taking up employment. Educational and Training Institutions 4 JO A wide range of full-time, part-time day release and part-time evening training courses relevant to the machine shop and metal working industry are being offered by several tertiary institutions, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, as well as the Vocational Training Council's technical colleges, technical institutes and industrial training centres. Employers are encouraged to make full use of the training facilities in these institutions and sponsor their employees to attend the relevant courses. 15

24 Training Centres 411 The Training Board has been charged with the responsibility of developing and operating the Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Centre and the Welding and Related Trades Training Centre. The former operates in all three ol the Council's training centre complexes at Kowloon Bay, Kwai Chung and Pokfulam, while the latter only in the Kwai Chung Training Centre Complex. These two centres offer the following full-time courses: Level (i) Craft Foundation Course Craft One year in Mechanical Engineering (ii) Craft Foundation Course Craft One year in Welding (iii) Basic Welding Course Operative 15 weeks 4.12 Both centres also offer a number of upgrading short courses with duration ranging from one to five days for in-service technicians, craftsmen and operatives in the industry, 4.13 The Council's Precision Tooling Training Centre at Kowloon Bay not only offers various tooling training courses but also houses a training unit for precision sheet-metal processing. This unit has played an important role in the transfer of precision sheet-metal technology to the local metal working industry The Training Board strongly urges employers to give full support to these three training centres by recruiting their apprentices from these centres and by sending their in-service workers to attend the relevant upgrading courses. Industrial Training Division of the Vocational Training Council 4,15 The Industrial Training Division of the Vocational Training Council offers free services to help employers organize their training schemes including: (i) (ii) The statutory Apprenticeship Scheme, through which technicians and craftsmen are effectively trained to meet the needs of the industry. The Engineering Graduate Training Scheme, which helps engineering students and graduates complete their professional training as engineers. 16

25 (iii) (iv) The New Technology Training Scheme, which provides matching grants to local companies that wish to have their employees trained in new technologies. The voluntary Trade Testing and Certification Scheme, which is for the purpose of ascertaining and recognizing the standards of skilled workers The Training Board recommends employers to contact this Division for assistance in setting up training schemes and recruiting trainees. 17

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45 Appendix 1 Membership of the Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Board (As at 1st November 1994) Chairman: Mr. Cliff SUN Kai-lit (nominated by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries) Members: Dr. CHAN Kit-wah Mr. Raymond CHAN Wai-man Mr. Anthony CHENG Dr. CHIU Wai-ming Mr. Derek Ian DARLEY Mr. HEUNG King-wing Mr. Kenneth KWOK Chi-woon Miss Eliza LAM Ip-fong Mr. LEE Ming-sang Mr. LI Li-man Mr. LO Tsai-hong (nominated by the University of Hong Kong) (nominated by a Metal Finishing Company) (representative of the Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council) (nominated by the Hong Kong Polytechnic) (nominated by The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong) (representative of the Commissioner for Labour) (nominated by The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries Ltd.) (representative of the Director-General of Industry) (nominated by The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong) (nominated by the Hong Kong Productivity Council) (representative of the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services) 37

46 Mr. WON Sau-yan Mr. WONG Lap-chi Mr. Richard YAM Ching-man Mr. YEUNG Shing-kai (nominated by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries) (nominated by a Machinery Manufacturing Company) (nominated by the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong) (nominated by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Metal Industry Workers General Union) Co-opted Members: Dr. NGAN Ka-mok Mr. LEUNG Hip~hung (nominated by the Hong Kong Technical Colleges) (nominated by the Technical Institutes) Secretary: Mr. NG Sai-kit (the Vocational Training Council) 38

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48 Appendix 2 Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Board Terms of Reference 1. To determine the manpower needs of the Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry and to make to the Vocational Training Council recommendations for the development of industrial training facilities with a view to bringing about sufficient adequately trained manpower to meet the needs of this industry. 2. To prescribe job standards (i.e. the necessary skills and knowledge) for all principal jobs in the industry. 3. To design training programmes to meet the recommended standards and trade tests for ascertaining that such standards have been attained. 4. To report annually, or as often as the Council decides, on: (a) (b) (c) the work carried out in the preceding twelve months, accurate details of the work to be carried out (including precise financial estimates, if any) in the next twelve months, and the work to be carried out (including financial implications, if any) in the second and third years ahead. 5. To undertake any other functions delegated by the Council in accordance with Section 7 of the Vocational Training Council Ordinance. 40

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109 VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL Executive Summary of the 1994 Manpower Survey Report on the MachineShop and Metal Working Industry Objective The survey was conducted in June and July 1994 to collect the latest manpower information of the machine shop and metal working industry with a view to updating the manpower statistics and assessing the training needs of the industry. Coverage 2. The fieldwork of the manpower survey covered establishments which were selected by a stratified random sampling method from a total of some establishments in the machine shop and metal working industry. The data collected were subsequently scaled up statistically to give the full manpower picture of the industry* Survey Findings 3. At the time of the survey/ there were workers engaged in 57 principal jobs in the industry. The distribution of the workforce by job level is: No. of Percentage of Job Level Workers Total Workforce Technologist % Technician ,5% Craftsman % Operative % Unskilled % Managerial % Supervisory % Total

110 4. Employers reported a total of vacancies/ equivalent to 2.3% of the workforce." Of these/ about 54% were at the craftsman level, and about 30% at the operative level. 5. There were persons receiving various forms of training and about 93% of them were being trained for craft jobs. 6. Employers anticipated their workforce to grow from the current workers to workers by June 1995, representing an increase of 3.1%. 7. Manpower statistics relating to the various principal jobs are given in the Annex. Manpower ChangesSince Compared with findings in the 1992 survey/ the workforce has decreased from persons to persons/ at an average annual rate of 8.5%. The reduction occurred mainly at the operative and unskilled levels in jobs such as assembler/ semi-skilled machine operator/ polishing worker and press operator. The retrenchment was mainly a result of the continued relocation of labour-intensive processing plants to the Pearl River Delta Area of China where production costs are much cheaper than those in Hong Kong. Future Manpower Requirements 9. The Training Board is of the view that the relocation of manufacturing operations to China and other areas will continue as long as there are financial incentives to doing so. However/ as manufacturers staying in Hong Kong will inevitably have to upgrade their manufacturing facilities and techniques in their attempts to remain competitive/ the demand for well-trained technologists/ technicians and craftsmen is expected to persist. On this basis/ the Training Board has estimated that the machine shop and metal working industry will require an additional technologists, technicians and craftsmen in each of the next ten years to make up for staff loss through wastage and to meet the developing needs of the industry* Council Secretariat

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