Workforce Development and Skill Formation in Asia by John Benson Howard Gospel Ying Zhu

Author:John Benson, Howard Gospel, Ying Zhu [John Benson, Howard Gospel, Ying Zhu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies
ISBN: 9781135044763
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-05-29T04:00:00+00:00

Strengths and weaknesses of the system: impacts and analysis

The Hong Kong system can be labelled as a voluntaristic one which is market responsive and in this connection, is probably conducive to changes and innovations in product mix and technology. Such a system of workforce development is, however, compounded by its growing integration with the mainland labour and skill market. During the previous few decades, there had been a gradual drain of low- skill and labour-intensive production jobs to the mainland, especially the Pearl River Basin. Such a shift was accompanied by the growing demand for and gestation of new skills, especially of the service type, and quasi-professional in nature and level. However, deskilling also occurred simultaneously, in part because of migration of Hong Kong's industrial plants northwards and partly due to digital automation.

Deskilling affects most the skilled and semi- skilled production workers, as well as office workers like secretaries, clerks and bank tellers. Production workers with experience encounter formidable difficulties in making a mid-career transfer to other occupations in the ‘sunrise’ service sector, in spite of retraining facilities provided by the government. Their unemployment brings hardship not only to the individuals but also to their families, let alone the problem of psychological maladjustments. It is now generally argued by both employers and trade unions, as well as to some extent by the government, that Hong Kong should search for a prospective strategy to re- industrialize in order to diversify its industrial base, rather than leaning heavily upon the volatile financial and banking industries. An option is to rekindle the apparel industry at the ‘upstream’ high quality product level, especially now that wages and labour overheads have become much more costly on the mainland. Factories in the Pearl River Basin are now diversifying spatially or relocating themselves elsewhere in search for cheaper labour. However, the labour movement is unhappy about such developments as it also suggests the possibility of, as articulated by employers and the government, enlisting imported guest workers to staff the industry if rejuvenated Ng and Ip 2007).

Among the stakeholders in this domain of workforce development and skill formation, the state purports to adopt a long-term perspective in education and training as a function which contributes towards the enhanced productivity and improved competitiveness of the economy (Paris 1995). For this purpose, it conducts manpower forecasts at regular intervals and publishes reports on the projected manpower supply and shortfalls of different kinds and at different levels within the human infrastructure for the next five and ten years.

However, the government needs to respond to arising shifts in the labour and employment market with stop-gap measures often of a transient or ad hoc nature. In fact, the provision of education has now become an industry featuring various stakeholders whose perspective and interests may be short-term or long-term or a mix of both. And as an industry, the delivery of knowledge by educational and training institutions also becomes a service good, especially where it is perceived as value adding with a vocational or professional orientation.

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