PRESS RELEASES: 1999-2004

Speech by SEM on Workplace English Campaign

Following is a speech by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, at the launching ceremony of the Workplace English Campaign at the Government House today (Feburary 28):

Chief Executive, Mr Michael Tien, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, I would like to welcome you to the launching of the Workplace English Campaign. We are most honored that the Chief Executive, the Honorable Tung Chee Hwa, is here today to officiate at the ceremony.

I am sure you will agree that Hong Kong possesses the qualities to become a truly world-class city and the most cosmopolitan city in Asia. A world-class and cosmopolitan city needs people who can communicate effectively in English, the language of business.

We are aware of the concerns expressed in some quarters of the business community about the standard of English of our workforce. We are also alive to certain perceptions in the international community that we are attaching less importance to English after the handover. Let me assure you that we remain fully committed to maintaining and improving the standard of English in Hong Kong. We have been implementing a series of major initiatives in the school sector to improve the teaching and learning of English. As a general rule, our Universities do not admit any local student who fails the English examination.

Today we launch the Workplace English Campaign in partnership with the business sector. And I take this opportunity to thank members of the Workplace English Campaign Steering Committee, and in particular, its Chairman, Mr Michael Tien, who have been working extremely hard for the past few months to develop the core components of the Campaign.

The Workplace English Campaign is more than a publicity exercise. It is a major initiative aimed to heighten public awareness of the importance of English, and to raise the English standards of our workforce. The three core components of the Campaign are - the benchmarking of workplace English standards, the Funding Scheme and the Business and School Partnership Programme.

Mr Tien will explain in more detail later how the benchmarks of workplace English standards in major occupation categories have been set. A large number of business organisations have already pledged support for the benchmarks. I am hopeful that more will follow suit as the Campaign continues in the months ahead.

Let me also say this: benchmarks do not serve the interests of employers only. Better English standards will open doors to more and better job opportunities for our employees; and widely recognised benchmarks will act as milestones for career advancement.

We put money where our mouth is. With the support of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, we have set aside $50 million from the Language Fund to finance a Funding Scheme which will provide subsidies to employees to take English courses and to sit for the relevant English tests. We expect around 30,000 employees to benefit from the Scheme. In the longer term, I hope more and more employees will encourage and subsidies their employees to take the necessary language training to achieve the benchmark standards.

I am also pleased to learn that over 100 business organisations and 170 secondary schools have signed up for the Business and School Partnership Programme, which is spearheaded by the Business Coalition on Education and our Education Department. I am sure that this programme of exchange visits and workplace attachments will provide our secondary students and future workforce with first-hand exposure to authentic workplace English, and to better prepare them for the English-speaking world of business.

Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Hong Kong are and will always be our single most precious resource. The Workplace English campaign will be a year-long programme with various highlights and evens. But it will not have a lasting impact without the sustained efforts of our businesses, our workforce, and the community at large. Let us all work together to make the Campaign a success.

Thank you.

End/Monday, February 28,2000