Mergers one option as review looks at ways to reduce costs and co-ordinate services

Two of the Government's main job-training bodies may be merged to cut costs and establish broader and better co-ordinated training.

The Education and Manpower Bureau will commission a study later this month to review management of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Employees Retraining Board (ERB). The study is expected to last until July.

The bureau's initial evaluation has found that while both bodies target different groups of trainees, their training courses are similar. Merging the two would increase the flexibility of course planning and resource allocation and ensure a uniform standard on course assessment and quality guarantees, the bureau said.

The VTC is mainly responsible for providing pre-employment training for secondary school leavers, while the ERB offers retraining to those over 30 who are educated up to Secondary Three level and unemployed. Neither caters for certain groups, such as employed people over 20 who want to be retrained for other careers.

The study will also analyse the two training bodies' services and their relationship with other training groups, such as the Construction Industry Training Authority and the Clothing Industry Training Authority.

It is understood ERB members are keener on making changes before considering a possible merger with the council. 'Some have suggested the board should change its name to the Employees Training Board or even the Staff Training Board before any reforms,' a board source said.