THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG LIBRARIES Hong Kong Collection gift from Vocational Training Council
1994 Manpower Survey Report Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Machine Shop and Metal Working Industry Training Board Vocational Training Council
CONTENTS Section Paragraph Page I Introduction 1.1-1.9 1-2 II Summary of Survey Findings 2.1-2.9 3-8 III Conclusions 3.1-3.13 9-11 IV Recommendations 4.1-4.16 12-17 Appendices 111
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 42 4. Manpower Statistics of the Industry 48 5. Preferred Education of Employees 53 6. Preferred Mode of Training of Employees 57 7. Preferred Period of Training of Employees 61 8. 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 2004 11. Questionnaire 75 12. Explanatory Notes on the Questionnaire 78 13. Job Descriptions for Principal Jobs in 82 the Industry v
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* 371-372), (ii) manufacture of fabricated metal products, excluding manufacture of metal furniture & fixture (HSIC 380-381 excluding 3812), (iii) (iv) (v) manufacture of machinery & equipment, except electrical (HSIC 3821, 3861-3864 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 311-314), and
(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 1 033 survey samples out of some 10 600 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 1 033 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 1 033 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.
SECTION II SUMMARY OF SURVEY Distribution of Employees by Branch of Industry (Appendix 3) 2.1 At the time of survey, there were 51 103 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 21 898 17444 42.9% 34.1% Manufacture of Mechanical Watches and Clocks Plant Maintenance Sections of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Industries 3313 707 6.5% 1.4% Relevant Divisions of Technical Education Institutions, Government Departments, Related Public Utility and Engineering Companies Total 6234 51 103 12.2% 100%
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 1 453 13 1 466 2.9% Technician 5 189 195 5384 10.5% Craftsman 25903 123 26026 50.9% Operative 7806 7 124 14930 29.2% Unskilled 1594 866 2460 4.8% Managerial 499 9 508 1.0% Supervisory 293 36 329 0.7% Total 42737 8366 51 103 100% 2.3 Chart 1 shows the comparative distribution of employees by job level based on data obtained from the five manpower surveys conducted since 1986. 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%.
Chart 1 Comparative Distribution of Employees by Job Level 110 Technologist 100 90 80 Technician Craftsman Operative & Unskilled Managerial & Supervisory 70 60 jn H 50 51 103 2.9% 40 30 20 10 0 1986 1992 34.0% 1.7% 1994
Number of Trainees (Appendix 4) 2.4 The survey revealed that there were 1 227 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 1 466 21 1.4% Technician 5384 31 0.6% Craftsman 26026 1 147 4.4% Operative 14930 28 0.2% Total 47806 1 227 2.6% 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 14 14 460
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 1 170 vacancies, about 2.3% of the total number of employees in the industry. Employers also forecast a labour force of 52 669 in June 1995, which is 1 566 employees more than that in June 1994. The following is a summary of the information by job level:
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 1995 93 Technician 5384 46 0.9% 55 Craftsman 26026 635 2.4% 938 Operative 14930 348 2.3% 420 Unskilled 2460 60 2.4% 50 Managerial 508 2 0.4% 1 Supervisory 329 10 3.0% 9 Total 51 103 1 170 2.3% 1 566 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
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 51 103, showing a decline of 16.4% (in two years or 8.5% per annum) from the figure 61 102 recorded in the 1992 survey. The number of trainees also slipped from 1 324 in 1992 to 1 227 in 1994. 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 122 000 in the early eighties to some 51 000 in 1994. 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 25 156 to 17 390, i.e. a reduction of 7 766 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 1529 1466-4.1% Technician 5431 5384-0.9% Craftsman 27966 26026-6.9% 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
3 5 The number of employees in some managerial and supervisory jobs of interest to the Training Board had also decreased from 1 020 in 1992 to 837 in 1994. 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 1994. 3.7 The basic metal branch continued to contract with its workforce dropping by 27.2% from 2 069 to 1 507 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 28 723 and 5 470 in 1992 to 21 898 and 3 313 in 1994. 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 17845 to 17444 employees) and 1,1% for the branch covering relevant divisions of technical education institutions, government departments, related public utility and engineering companies (from 6 305 to 6 234 employees). Future Manpower Demand 3.10 Employers forecast the total workforce by June 1995 to be 52 669, i.e. an addition of 1 566 workers to the manpower at the time of the survey as compared with the forecast additional requirement of 2 695 by 1993 in the previous survey. In addition, the number of vacancies reported in June/July 1994 was 1 170 (as compared with 2 108 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
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 110-140 260-290 1 140-1 270 % 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 1996. 11
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 1 147 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 4.8. 4.3 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 3.12. 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
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
(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
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
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. 4.14 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
(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. 4.16 The Training Board recommends employers to contact this Division for assistance in setting up training schemes and recruiting trainees. 17
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
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
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
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 1 033 establishments which were selected by a stratified random sampling method from a total of some 10 600 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 51 103 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 1 466 2.9% Technician 5 384 10,5% Craftsman 26 026 50.9% Operative 14 930 29.2% Unskilled 2 460 4.8% Managerial 508 1.0% Supervisory 329 0.7% Total 51 103
4. Employers reported a total of 1 170 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 1 227 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 51 103 workers to 52 669 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 1992 8. Compared with findings in the 1992 survey/ the workforce has decreased from 61 102 persons to 51 103 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 110-140 technologists, 260-290 technicians and 1 140-1 270 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