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Peter Hill

As the dark clouds of recession continue to hover menacingly over the global economy, the academic principle of learning for learning's sake has become less relevant as people look for more practical skills.
Students are turning to courses that offer them the skills to get a job or to stave off redundancy as companies look to cut labour costs during the slowdown.
Hong Kong's universities are responding to this trend by providing more skill-oriented programmes, many of which are subsidised by the government's Continuing Education Fund.  
The University of Hong Kong's school of professional and continuing education (HKU Space)  established its centre for international degree programmes (CIDP)  in 2003 to provide full-time, top-up degrees  from world-renowned universities. These provide opportunities for graduates of associate degrees and higher diploma programmes to further their studies at degree level in Hong Kong.
The centre has more than 1,000 full-time students studying top-up degrees  in collaboration with six Australian and British universities, including the University of London and the University of Western Australia.
'These two universities are ranked in the world's top 100, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement 2008,' said Ken Wong, associate head of CIDP. 
The demand for undergraduate education from sub-degree graduates pushed CIDP's annual applications to a record-high level of more than 2,000 in 2008-09. It anticipates a further increase in the number of applications in 2009-10 and plans to increase places by 15per cent, mainly in areas of criminology, advertising and public relations. 
CIDP is offering close to 20 programmes in areas such as business, social, cultural and media studies, art and design, information technology, and hospitality and tourism.
According to Mr Wong, there is a 'back-to-basics' approach from students, who are abandoning high-flyer programmes and turning to subjects such as accounting, languages and law that are not just for short-term gain.
'We see there is a surging demand for degrees in applied social sciences, media and communications, especially in this economic climate when sub-degree graduates start to realise that there is no guarantee of a high return by studying a business degree,' Mr Wong said.
In these uncertain times for businesses, HKU Space is offering a series of programmes in risk management. Its postgraduate diploma and postgraduate certificate in enterprise risk management are unique in terms of scope of diversity and specialism focus. The multidisciplinary programmes cover areas related to business and professional ethics, corporate governance, financial risk, fraud prevention, internal control and anti-money laundering laws.
The advanced diploma in corporate administration and governance aims to provide knowledge, understanding and intellectual skills. The programme covers company secretaryship, business administration, business communication, business law in Hong Kong and on the mainland,  financial management and strategic issues in administration, corporate governance and ethics. Students will be equipped for a career in company administration, governance, company secretaryship and related areas.
Mr Wong is clear about the main benefits of further education during a recession. 'In a knowledge-based economy and international city such as Hong Kong, continuing study is always useful to improve  skills, strengthen  knowledge foundations and upgrade quality. This also helps to open up new career opportunities,' he said.
HKU Space has taken steps to become a private university. It plans to offer six to eight self-financing degree programmes covering mostly humanities subjects such as Chinese culture, western culture and liberal studies. The university hopes to have its first intake next year of 600 to 1,000 students. Course fees per year will  be HK$60,000 to HK$70,000, similar to that of other self-financed degree programmes.
Peter Yuen,  dean of the college of professional and continuing education at Polytechnic University (PolyU),  said the economic climate had brought a change in emphasis in planning courses.
'We are trying to provide development opportunities. It's not so much about practical courses as it is about being flexible and broadening people's skills to make them more employable,' he said.
Professor Yuen said the university had received a positive response from the hotel industry to its plan to save staff from being laid off by providing study opportunities in areas such as travel industry management, human resources, marketing and service quality.
Hong Kong's high-end hotels have been badly affected by the decrease in western visitors as the recession bites. One plan is for hotels to pay 50 per cent of an employee's salary and allow the employee half the time off to do a degree. But the proposal is flexible and will  allow the employer to decide what proportion of a salary will  be paid, depending on circumstances and the requirements of the course.
'A majority of hotel staff have higher diplomas. This is our target group for top-up programmes that will take those people to a bachelor's degree level. If the project with the hotel industry takes off, we hope that other industries will want to participate,' Professor Yuen said.
PolyU  is looking to  collaborate  with Britain's Institute of Risk Management  on a programme in risk management. 
'Nothing has materialised yet, but we think this could be an opportune time for such a course in Hong Kong. Many people who used to work in wealth management need to find something else to do,' he said.
Baptist University's school of continuing education  is offering four postgraduate master's degrees in education, nursing (clinical leadership), primary health care and business administration as a way of helping people to become more employable.




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