VTC confers awards on over 20,000 graduates at VTC Graduation Ceremony Five industry leaders awarded VTC Honorary Fellowship
Officiating at the graduation ceremony, Secretary for Education, Kevin YEUNG, said that VTC has all along been taking a leading role in the development of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) in Hong Kong and providing staunch support for education policies of the Government. The Council offers quality and diversified programmes through its close partnership with industry and has successfully nurtured generations of professionals over the past 35 years.
He congratulated the graduates and said, “Graduation means the completion of one chapter and yet the beginning of another. I hope you will continue with life-long learning and make every effort to equip yourself to realise your goal and dream, whether you are going to pursue further study or a career.”
VTC Chairman Dr Clement CHEN said, “The young form an important cornerstone of societal development. VPET has nurtured generations of talent for Hong Kong over the years and plays an essential role in local human resources and economic development. The Government has time and again affirmed the value of VPET in the education system and continues to enhance its image, promoting its development through a series of policies including the strengthening of its hardware and software and the hosting of mega skills competitions.”
He told the audience that to tie in with the Government's strategic direction and global trends in education, the VTC had beefed up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and integrated technology into its teaching and learning, for example by introducing Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to strengthen the effectiveness of STEM teaching and raise the students’ learning motivation. In addition, interdisciplinary programmes and collaborative projects had been introduced to teach students to critique ideas from multiple perspectives and enhance their abilities in knowledge application, innovation, team building and problem solving. “Learning experiences like this help to broaden the students’ horizons and enable them to understand the real requirements in the workplace, thereby better preparing them for the world of work,” Dr Chen added. He noted that VTC graduates had become well recognised. The 90% average employment rate enjoyed by Higher Diploma graduates was a case in point.
This year, the VTC conferred Honorary Fellowships on five distinguished personalities (Annex 1) in recognition of their significant contributions to their professional fields and to the development of VPET. Teaching Excellence Awards were also presented by VTC Chairman Dr Clement CHEN to five VTC teachers in recognition of their exemplary performance, while a number of VTC graduates were bestowed with Distinction Awards to recognise their outstanding academic results.
Established in 1982, the Vocational Training Council（VTC）is the largest vocational and professional education and training provider in Hong Kong with some 250,000 students and trainees each year. The mission of VTC is to provide a valued choice to school leavers and working people to acquire the values, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and enhanced employability, and also to provide support to industries for their manpower development. VTC has 13 member institutions, namely theTechnological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) , the Institute of Professional Education And Knowledge (PEAK) , the School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE) , the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) , the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) , Hotel and Tourism Institute (HTI) , Chinese Cuisine Institute (CCI) , International Culinary Institute (ICI) , Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI) , Youth College , Pro-Act by VTC , Integrated Vocational Development Centre (IVDC) and Shine Skills Centre.
VTC web site: www.vtc.edu.hk
Annex 1:
VTC 2017 Honorary Fellows
| Professor CHEUNG Siu-wing | Industrial Professor, The University of Warwick, United Kingdom |
| Winnie CHIU Wing-kwan | President & Executive Director, Dorsett Hospitality International |
| Dr Dennis NG Wang-pun | Managing Director of Polaris Jewellery Manufacturer Limited |
| John RUDDY | Trust Protector of the Alistair Harvey Foundation |
| WONG Kit-loong | Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Hong Kong Housing Society |
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