IF THERE WAS A colossal pool of qualified people out there, perhaps nobody would think of starting training programmes.
But it is not a perfect world. In the face of a shortage of fully qualified professionals in the field of utility surveying, BUDA, an underground utility inspection and surveying service provider, decided to start its graduate trainee programme four years ago.
The company's three-year training programme, according to BUDA Group director Wong King, provides coaching in technical skills relating to risk and safety in confined spaces, and soft skills such as communications and leadership.
Training for work in confined spaces is provided by many companies, but BUDA's training gives participants more opportunities to put theories into practice, Mr Wong stressed. BUDA's training is jointly offered with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
'Short courses provided by many organisations might just show you the gears without you trying them. But we make sure our people know how to use them correctly, and in a safe manner,' said Mr Wong, who is also vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors.
In the first two years of the programme, participants receive an all-round training in seven disciplines: conduit condition evaluation, manhole internal condition survey, man entry internal condition survey, utility mapping, water leakage detection, high-pressure water jetting and flow survey.
In the third year, the trainees focus on one area out of the seven, as required by the Hong Kong Institute of Utility Surveyors.