Closing Speech by Mrs Ingrid Yeung, Permanent Secretary for Education at HKQF International Conference 2018

Closing Speech by Mrs Ingrid Yeung,

Permanent Secretary for Education

at HKQF International Conference 2018

18 September 2018 (Tuesday)

Director Lei, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

      Good afternoon. The Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF) International Conference 2018 is coming to a close. It is our great honour to have you all joining the Conference in the past two days. With your active participation, the Conference successfully finished all its sessions despite the threat posed by the super typhoon initially.

Overseas and Mainland experience in developing QF

      In the two-day meeting, I believe we have all been encouraged by the growth and development of QF in Hong Kong and in other places over the last decade. We are inspired by the experience sharing by colleagues and experts from places with a long history of QF including New Zealand and Ireland. It is exciting to know how these forerunners further advance their already well-established QFs to widen the applications and make greater impact on education, training and employment. Recognition of bite-size learning packages in New Zealand, and better matching between qualifications and work in Ireland, are some remarkable steps forward that are worth highlighting.

      Apart from the mature QF systems, it is also encouraging to learn that more and more places are going to introduce QF in the near future. Director Lei introduced to us our country’s plan to set up a national QF and the pilot projects conducted. I am sure the HKQF could play an active role in the development process of the national QF by sharing our experience in the implementation of our qualifications system. We are also glad to learn about the recent developments of the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework which will facilitate further collaboration through comparison of qualifications across the ASEAN member economies.

Local experience in application of QF

      The HKQF will progress from the development stage towards the implementation and utilisation stage in the coming decade. It has been the HKSAR Government’s mission to develop and promote HKQF in order to enhance the capability and competitiveness of our workforce. It is a promising sign to have received positive feedback from our local users of HKQF including the professional bodies, employers and other government departments at the sharing session just now. We are very grateful for the enthusiastic participation and support of our corporate partners and government departments in aligning their training programmes and qualifications under the QF.

      As highlighted by the Secretary for Education yesterday, the development of HKQF will augment the Government’s initiative to step up promotion for VPET.

      As head of the largest VPET provider in Hong Kong, Dr Carrie Yau, Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council, enlightened us this morning on the synergy between the development of VPET and HKQF, and gave us food for thought in contemplating the future policy direction in supporting modern VPET through generic skills upgrading and recognition of qualifications. I am confident that the HKQF will become a more active player in the development of VPET in Hong Kong in the years to come.

Closing remarks

      Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our honourable guest speakers, distinguished guests and participants, for your support and generous sharing. My special thanks also go to our co-organiser the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, as well as our supporting organisations including the European Commission, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the Quality and Qualifications Ireland and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership. Without your kind and unreserved assistance, we would not have made this Conference a success.

      I hope all of you have enjoyed the discussion and gained deeper insights into the future role of QF and its potential in contributing to the development of VPET. For those guests and participants who have travelled a long way to Hong Kong, may I also wish you a memorable stay here, not only due to the forces of Nature you experienced on Sunday, but also due to the efficiency of Hong Kong in recovering, the rich content of this conference and the hospitality you have met with. I look forward to your continued support and more opportunities for collaboration to advance the development of QF. I hope to see you all again at future QF international conferences. Thank you.