Training Plan goes live!

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The Force's commitment to provide the highest standard of training to support the delivery of a quality Police service to the community has been greatly enhanced with the recent launch of the Hong Kong Police Training & Development Plan.

Assistant Commissioner (Training), Mr David Thomas, explained: "Although the Force has always had various training plans and policies, this is the first time these have been encapsulated in one comprehensive document. The Plan serves two main purposes. Firstly, it establishes a revised training and development policy as well as setting out the future direction and framework for training and development in the Force. It is also intended to assist supervisory and individual officers at all levels in designing organisational and individual training and development programmes."

The Plan has been compiled by the Training Wing and endorsed by members of the Policy & Coordinating Committee on Force Training & Development (PCCFTD).

It has also received the welcome support of the Civil Service Training & Development Institute Director, Mr William Ng, who, in a letter to the Commissioner, described it as "a very comprehensive plan that expresses succinctly senior management's training and development philosophy and your Department's T&D policies, strategies and objectives".

The main objectives in the Plan follow the broad principles laid down in the Force Vision and Statement of Common Purpose and Values as well as the Three Year Strategic Action Plan. In compiling the Plan, full cognizance was taken of the comments made by many junior officers in the 2001 Staff Opinion Survey, views expressed by officers at divisional sub-unit training days attended by Training Wing staff, as well as suggestions made by PCCFTD members.

Mr Thomas added : "Linked with the Force Training Directory through POINT, the Plan is a living document and will continue to evolve in response to changes in the Force and Hong Kong."

OffBeat has found that reaction to the Plan has been very positive. Station Sergeant Wong Kin-sau from Sha Tin District remarked: "It is good to show the training and development philosophy of the Force and the training courses organised by the Force for its members. Officers will benefit from the course programmes, especially the overseas ones. The Plan gives a clear picture on staff development in the Force."

Echoing these views, Marine Outer Waters District Training & Staff Relations Officer, Mr Li Hok-wai, said : "The Plan is a very good reference point and clearly shows the training and development process in the Force. I can understand the various strategies. It is particularly important to highlight the roles and responsibilities of Force members who have a responsibility for training and development so that we can enhance our learning as well as performance in the Force."

The Plan, in English and Chinese, will be available in hardcopy to Formation Commanders and has also been placed on POINT. In order to demonstrate more fully the use of the Plan, it will also be launched as a Newsflash for viewing at sub-unit training days starting in October.

Mr Thomas concluded, "I do hope that colleagues find the Plan useful and we welcome feedback on ways in which the Plan can be further improved in the future."

Previously, the Force Training Directory was produced in hardcopy only and the annual updating exercise was tedious and time-consuming. The making of a real-time electronic Directory, together with the Force T&D Plan, are Training Wing's initiatives to enhance support to Force members in the pursuit of life long learning to cope with the changing environment and demands of the public we serve.