Shouldering the Inheritance of Traditional Techniques - Construction Trade Exchanging Centre

With the accelerated development of innovative technology, the construction industry is entering the era of "Industry 4.0". However, traditional construction skills are still in demand and many hope to learn these techniques for entering the industry. Recently, Ir Thomas HO, Chairman of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and Mrs. LO LEE Oi-lin, member of the CIC, have visited the Hong Kong Construction Industry Trade Exchanging Centre under Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union (HKCIEGU) earlier. They toured the training ground and observed the progress of students.

Traditional skills training has always attract much interest. Taking joinery as an example, some institutions have offered relevant courses, attracting a lot of people who wish to learn the basic traditional techniques such as ”Lo Pan Lock” (burr puzzle), mortise and tenon. HKCIEGU mentioned that many are interested in the course of "General Workers to Intermediate Tradesman" (new entrants to become semi-skilled workers), in order to obtain the qualification of Intermediate Tradesman. It also believed that there is still demand for joinery and relevant courses are sought after. Currently, the Centre offers a variety of courses including bricklaying, plastering, electrical wiring, plumbing and painting, and is planning to expand more trades in the future.

Higher Popularity Among Female Students Injecting New Blood for the Industry

Recently, the government has expanded the Talent List of Hong Kong to cover 51 professions, including those under the construction sector, which will alleviate the labour shortage. However, the golden decade of construction industry is fast approaching, creating urgent demand for new blood to fill the manpower gap. Last year, the Center trained around 1,800 tradesmen and made significant contribution to the construction industry. The good connections with clansman associations of HKCIEGU has been helpful in attracting more new blood into the industry.

Mr. WONG Ping, Chairman of HKCIEGU has observed a phenomenon that training can unleash the potential of the female labour force. He shared the story of a few female students who had completed the painter course. When renovating their homes, instead of hiring skilled painter, they decided to do the painting job by themselves after the course. In other words, training female students can create more manpower while save manpower in the long term. According to Mr. LAI Tung-to, supervisor of Hong Kong Construction Industry Trade Exchanging Centre, quite a lot of female students have enrolled construction-related courses. During the tour of the Centre, it can be seen that several female students are attending different workshops.

Learning to Be A Smart Tradesmen, Not Relying on Manual Strength

In order to build a strong foundation, skills should be learned step by step. For instance, if you want to learn how to lay glazed tiles, you should learn how to lay mosaic tiles first. Preservation of traditional techniques is never easy and it relies on the masters to pass it down from generation to generation. At the same time, technology must be utilised for driving the development of the construction industry. Taking plumbing as an example, Ir Thomas HO pointed out that it is necessary to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) to generate plumbing drawings, complete all process in the factory so that pre-fabricated and readymade components can be moved to the site for assembly. “It is different from the past, and it takes time. We should get started now”, he added.

Ir Thomas HO encouraged students to be a smart tradesman and the training centre would lead them step by step. “You can’t only rely on manual strength as in the past, but be smart. For instance, the levelling and setting out trade can be done by BIM and then there is no need for you to mark ink lines by hands now.” He reminded students to take their responsibilities of safety because learning how to “say no to danger” was the most important. “Please bear in mind that you only live once, and you should also be considerate to yourself and partners ", he emphasised.

Previously, the CIC released the latest “Construction Manpower Forecast”. It forecasted that the percentage of the mismatch in supply and demand will grow from 5-15% this year to 15-20% by 2027. Mr. WONG Ping mentioned that people are eager to enroll and over 3,000 applicants are on the waiting list of their centre.

Labour Shortage Leading to the Cooperation of Trawling for Talents

Ir Thomas HO noted that around 10,000 tradesmen were trained in the past year, of which only 5,000 were contributed by the CIC, the rest of them was done by the huge efforts of industry stakeholders. He have appealed industry stakeholders to trawl for talents continuously, “the construction industry can never stop”, so he called for enhancing the coordination and collaboration among all parties in order to provide training for more talents. Mrs. LO LEE Oi-lin, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Institute of Construction (HKIC) Management Board, also suggested improving the communication and cooperation of HKIC and HKCIEGU, coordinating the recruitment of students, and hence shortening the waiting time.

In fact, with the support of the Development Bureau, CIC has been implementing a joint promotion campaign – “Design for Future Build for Life” since last year, in partnership with professional and trade institutions of the construction industry. The PR campaign aimed at reaching out to the community and enhancing public understanding of the professionalism, contribution and prospect of the industry, and also attracting new blood to join the industry.