LCQ16: Provision of training for Administrative Officers

Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (June 14):

Question:

At present, the Government arranges for Administrative Officers (AOs) to pursue further studies in renowned universities on the Mainland and overseas to broaden their perspectives and enhance their leadership capabilities, so as to prepare them for taking up key roles at the upper echelons of the Government in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the Government (i) provides overseas short-term training for AOs passing probation and (ii) provides short-term executive development programmes for AOs promoted to the directorate rank, of the number of AOs who received such training in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by name of academic institution and title of programme; and

(2) as there are views pointing out that with Hong Kong being an international metropolis, in addition to having an in-depth understanding of national affairs, AOs should also be equipped with a certain degree of international perspectives, whether the Government will provide more overseas training opportunities for AOs in the future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

The Government attaches great importance to training and development of Administrative Officers, and offers various types of training for Administrative Officers at different ranks in a sustained manner to enhance their knowledge, and leadership abilities for serving the public. In addition to acquiring exposure to different policies and gaining experiences in various Government work through job rotation, Administrative Officers also receive systematic training in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong (including the Mainland and overseas). For overseas training, officers on completion of probation (after working for three years in most cases) will be arranged to study abroad; directorate officers with outstanding performance and potential may also be arranged to attend short-term executive development programmes (usually ranging from one to several weeks) run by overseas institutions. The selection of institutions is based on individual development needs.

In the past five years, the number of officers who received the above overseas training is sorted by institutions and listed as follows:

Year	Training Institution	Number of Trainees
2018	Post-probation Overseas Training University of Oxford University of California, Berkeley London School of Economics and Political Science	1 5 4
2018	Short-term Overseas Executive Development Programme for Directorate Officers INSEAD University of Oxford Harvard University International Institute for Management Development London Business School Others	1 1 1 2 1 1
2019	Post-probation Overseas Training University of Oxford University of California, Berkeley London School of Economics and Political Science	3 1 6
2019	Short-term Overseas Executive Development Programme for Directorate Officers INSEAD Harvard University International Institute for Management Development Stanford University University of Pennsylvania	1 2 1 1 1

*Since 2020, arrangements for sending officers to attend the above overseas training programmes were suspended due to the epidemic.

In addition to short-term programmes, the Civil Service Bureau also arranges potential officers promoted to the directorate rank to study one-year master's degree programmes organised by overseas institutions (e.g. Harvard University, Stanford University). In the past five years, we sponsored seven directorate officers in total to attend the aforementioned courses. During the epidemic, individual course was conducted online. Moreover, starting from 2022, the Civil Service College has partnered with Peking University to organise the Master's Degree in Public Policy Programme. The target participants are civil servants with potential to reach the senior rank of their grade. The programme lasts for two years. In the first year, participants are required to stay full time in Peking University to study and visit different places in the Mainland for conducting social research and experiencing the development of country. In the second year, participants resume work in Hong Kong while completing the thesis for graduation. So far, there were three Administrative Officers in total selected for this programme. We plan to select suitable Administrative Officers to take this programme every year. Since 2021, we have also provided full sponsorship to senior civil servants to take the Executive Master in Public Administration Programme offered by Tsinghua University on a part-time basis. So far, among six senior civil servants being sponsored, three of them are Administrative Officers.

The Civil Service Bureau will continue to assess colleagues' training needs and timely arrange suitable training and development opportunities for them. With the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the rest of the world, we are resuming various overseas training courses in an orderly manner. We are also reviewing overseas programmes, with an aim to select the most suitable ones that can broaden the Administrative Officers' horizons nowadays and enhance their capabilities for them to study.