THE Hong Kong Productivity Council has been granted $1 million for a skills-upgrading course to ward off labour shortages.
The one-year programme, funded by the Government-established Employees Retraining Board, involves mould-making craftsmen and technicians.
Council executive director Chan Siu-kam said: ''Different from most projects which retrain redundant workers, this programme retrains on-the-job workers. It is preventive rather than curative.
''Why not train some of the employees who are still engaged in labour-intensive operations, and therefore likely to be displaced in the future, for jobs at the higher end where there is a serious manpower shortage?'' Mr Chan said such programmes would improve productivity.
''If Hong Kong is to succeed in its bid to become a technology-intensive, more fully integrated manufacturing centre, it is vital that we upgrade the skills of our workforce,'' he said.
While the pilot scheme targets the mould-making industry, the council might extend the programme to other industries, such as printed circuit-board layout design.
