In the reporting year, the number of new programme operators increased significantly. The HKCAAVQ completed 38 Initial Evaluation (IE) for new operators under the Qualification Register (QR) and 120 Programme Validations (PV) for VET operators including public organisations, education/training institutes, professional bodies, non-governmental organisations, trade associations, and commercial corporations of different scales.

The HKCAAVQ accredited a wide spectrum of programmes such as pre-employment training, in-house training, in-service training and professional development programmes, catering for the manpower development and advancement in major industries in Hong Kong.



There has been continuous support from industries and public organisations. During the reporting year, the Council accredited 18 in-house training programmes operated by companies belonging to various industrial sectors, such as banking and retail, as well as the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Hong Kong Police Force.

In 2013/14, the accreditation service expanded to include the school sector. Yi Jin Diploma (YJD), which provides an alternate pathway for Secondary Six school-leavers as well as adult learners to obtain a formal qualification for the purposes of employment and further study, undertook accreditation in June 2013, and is now recognised under the Qualifications Framework (QF) as meeting the accreditation standards at QF level 3.

The Education Bureau also launched a pilot project for accrediting Applied Learning (ApL) courses, which are recognised as subjects in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). In December 2013, one ApL course was successfully accredited by the HKCAAVQ as meeting the standards at QF level 3.

In October 2013, the HKCAAVQ accredited a vocational training programme offered by a secondary school for providing students with basic vocational skills to enter the job market after graduation.

The positioning of the YJD, ApL courses and school-based programmes under the QF established a major reference point for learners, parents, institutions, and employers to examine and benchmark the learning outcomes at senior secondary level.

In the school sector, the HKCAAVQ continues to be commissioned by the Education Bureau to conduct the quality assurance (QA) study to ensure the quality of the Applied Learning (ApL) courses. During the reporting period, QA visits were conducted to six ApL courses which were delivered by five different institutions in the Post-secondary education sector.

To increase the transparency and improve the efficiency of assessment, the HKCAAVQ acted upon the feedback collected from the Year-end Evaluation of HKCAAVQ’s Assessment Service for the Insurance Intermediaries and amended the CPD application forms for the Insurance Intermediaries Quality Assurance Scheme (IIQAS). The updated forms were implemented in March 2014.

During the reporting period, 85 new, 259 annual re-assessment and 304 changes of applications were processed under the IIQAS. Compared to the previous reporting period, there was a growth of 5% and 62% for the annual re-assessment and change applications respectively but a fall of 5% in new application.

For the Estate Agents Authority CPD Scheme, 15 new, 72 annual re-assessment and 29 changes of applications were assessed, which represented an annual increase of 67% and 24% for the new and annual re-assessment applications respectively compared with the previous reporting period.

The Facilitating Phase was introduced as a result of the Four- Stage Quality Assurance process review. Two facilitating models were designed and pre-tested in accordance with the aims of the Facilitating Phase to help operators who are new to the process to be aware of the accreditation requirements; and to bring together information about the track records of accredited operators to facilitate the identification of accreditation focus(es) for accreditation exercise. Three VET operators have been invited to participate in the pilot study of the two facilitating models. A review will then be conducted for fine-tuning the Facilitating Phase before its full implementation.

With the rapid development and growing public recognition of the QF, together with the new initiatives and support schemes introduced by the government, it is expected that the demand for accreditation service in the vocational sector will continue to increase.