|
(Last updated: 6 Jan 2012)
Trends and opportunities
The market
In 2010, Hong Kong was ranked 18th among the overall international enrolments in Australia with 7,031 enrolments from Hong Kong students. It was dominated by higher education (73.3 per cent), followed by vocational education and training (VET) (9.3 per cent), schools (8.3 per cent), English language studies (ELICOS) (4.5 per cent) and others (4.6 per cent).
There is ongoing demand from Hong Kong students for overseas secondary, post-secondary and tertiary studies. Especially with a double cohort year in 2012, it is foreseen that there will be the influx of the first Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) and last Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) students graduating from the old and new academic systems respectively. It is expected that there will be an increasing demand for post-secondary education from school leavers.
Australian education and training providers therefore need to develop dynamic courses, offer flexibility in study options and provide scholarships to attract Hong Kong students.
Higher Education
Hong Kong has 13 degree-awarding higher education institutions, including:
- Eight institutions funded by the public through the University Grants Committee:
- Four self-financing institutions:
- Publicly funded:
For institutions providing locally accredited full-time sub-degree courses, a list is available at www.ipass.gov.hk/eng/instilist.aspx.
At present, around 14,600 first-year-first-degree places were provided through the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC). For the 2010-11 academic year, the UGC-funded institutions also provided 2,000 senior year undergraduate intake places for graduates of sub-degree programs.
In the academic year 2010-11, around 301,200 students attended universities and colleges offering post-secondary courses. These include certificate/diploma, associate degree or equivalent and bachelor degree or above and also non-local registered or exempted courses leading to non-local higher academic qualifications and jointly operated with non-local institutions.
Primary education
Primary schooling starts at the age of around six and there are six years of schooling at primary level. There are three modes of operation in the primary schools, namely AM, PM and whole-day. With the encouragement of the government, most primary schools are adopting whole-day operations. All eligible children are, on application, allocated Primary 1 places in government and aided primary schools through the Primary One Admission System. Chinese is the language of instruction in most schools with English taught as a second language.
In the school year 2010-11, there were 532 government and aided primary schools and 40 international schools, with 331,112 student enrolments in total.
Secondary education
On completion of primary education, pupils are, on application, allocated subsidised Secondary 1 places through the Secondary School Places Allocation System.
In the school year 2010-11, 506 government and aided secondary schools and 27 international schools had a total student enrolment of 223,177.
Hong Kong is undergoing an education reform. Under the old education system, most secondary schools offered three-year junior secondary and two-year senior secondary courses leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), to be followed by a two-year sixth-form course leading to the HKALE for admission to tertiary institutions. The last cohort of HKCEE students graduated in 2010, and the HKCEE will no longer be delivered from 2011 onwards. The last HKALE will be held in 2012.
The new three-year senior secondary academic structure commenced at the Secondary 4 level in September 2009. The senior secondary curriculum, which is of three-year duration, was introduced at Secondary 4 and leads to the HKDSE. The HKDSE replaced the present HKCEE and HKALE. Under the new system, all students will benefit from six years of secondary education (ie. three years of junior secondary and three years of senior secondary education). The first cohort of students under the new senior secondary education will graduate in 2012.
The year 2012 is a double cohort year when the last cohort of students completing Secondary 7 with HKALE results under the old system and the first cohort completing Secondary 6 with HKDSE results under the new academic structure will graduate. There will be over 110,000 students coming from both systems (75,000 HKDSE and 40,000 HKALE candidates).
The new academic structure has created a new arena for competition. The new system is more in line with the educational systems of China, United States and Australia but deviates from that of the UK. Parents are concerned about the new system and are exploring opportunities to send their children overseas for secondary or higher education.
Vocation and Technical Training
The Vocational Training Council (VTC) advises the government on measures to ensure a comprehensive system of vocational education and training suited to the development and manpower needs of Hong Kong.
Vocational education and training services are provided at the:
- Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE)
- Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
- School of Business and Information Systems (SBI)
- Youth College (YC)
- Hospitality Industry Training & Development Centre (HITDC)
- Chinese Cuisine Training Institute (CCTI)
- Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI)
- Institute of Professional Education and Knowledge (PEAK)
IVE offers courses at higher technician, technician and craft levels leading to the awards of higher diploma, higher certificate, diploma and certificate etc. In response to the government’s initiative to increase the provision of post-secondary education for senior secondary school leavers, the VTC set up SBI in 2001 to run self-financing Higher Diploma programs. In order to meet the development needs of the creative industries, the VTC established HKDI in 2007 to bring together the design and related courses of the academic departments of IVE with a view to fostering cross-fertilisation and synergy. YC offers various programs for Secondary 3 and Secondary 5 school leavers. To align with the new senior secondary academic structure, YC introduced a credit-based program, namely Diploma in Vocational Education, in 2009-10 school year for school leavers at or above Secondary 3 level. The education and training provided by these VTC institutions aims to lay a foundation for the students’ continued personal and professional development and to prepare them for employment and/or further education.
In the 2009-10 academic year, nearly 47,000 students enrolled for full-time courses and more than 29,000 in part-time courses offered at IVE, HKDI, SBI and YC.
Furthermore, the VTC has collaborated with a number of overseas and local universities to offer top-up degree programs in various study areas to its Higher Diploma graduates.
Transnational education
Transnational education, also known as ‘non-local program’ in Hong Kong, has become a popular mode of study in Hong Kong in recent years. Opportunity costs are great in Hong Kong as students who leave full-time jobs for full-time study often lose out on pay rises or promotion.
Overseas institutions from different countries, including Australia, UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Philippines, Mainland China and Macau have been actively collaborating with local tertiary institutions, or through local partners and representative offices, to provide transnational education courses in Hong Kong to meet the strong and growing demand from Hong Kong students.
As at 30 November 2011, there were 419 registered courses and 723 exempted courses offered by higher and professional institutions outside Hong Kong. The following tables show the breakdown of courses offered by institutions from different countries.
No. of registered transnational courses
| Country |
per cent |
| Australia |
22 |
| Canada |
1 |
| Mainland China |
5 |
| United Kingdom |
53 |
| USA |
13 |
| Others |
4 |
No. of exempted transnational courses
| Country |
per cent |
| Australia |
17 |
| Canada |
0 |
| Mainland China |
7 |
| United Kingdom |
71 |
| USA |
4 |
| Others |
1 |
(Figures are as at 30 November 2011 provided by Hong Kong Education Bureau)
In 2010, there were approximately 12,000 Hong Kong student enrolled in one of the 230 Australian qualification transnational programs delivered in Hong Kong. (Source: Hong Kong Education Bureau)
The Open University of Hong Kong is another major local institution offering more than 400 distance learning and full-time courses. These courses range from Certificate, Associate Degree, Bachelor to Postgraduate level qualifications and are delivered by four schools, namely:
- School of Arts and Social Sciences
- Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration
- School of Education and Languages
- School of Science and Technology
In addition, the Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education offers overseas degree programs, workplace training and short courses.
Training
The demand for training for both corporate and Hong Kong government organisations are met by local and international training organisations. Over 3,000 training organisations registered their businesses in Hong Kong. A list of major training organisations can be found at http://hkdirectory.tdctrade.com.
Opportunities
In 2010, the main tertiary courses undertaken by Hong Kong students in Australia were:
- Management and commerce
- Society and culture
- Health
- Creative arts
These areas of study remain in high demand.
Almost all Australian universities are active in the Hong Kong market. Next year will be particularly important to Australian universities as 2012 is a double cohort year, with the influx of the first HKDSE and last HKALE students graduating from both systems. It is expected that there will be an increasing demand for post-secondary education.
The many flexible pathways and the three year degree structure will continue to be Australia’s key appeals to students and parents in Hong Kong. However, early decisions on the acceptability of the HKDSE will be a key driver in capturing market share in the current psyche of Hong Kong parents.
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and the Education Bureau have conducted a survey to understand the general admission requirements of overseas universities/ institutions for HKDSE holders. In respond to this survey since June 2010, 17 universities from Australia have so far recognised HKDSE. Australian universities are encouraged to indicate their admission requirements for the students with HKDSE qualification.
Please refer to the HKEAA website for more details about the general admission requirements for HKDSE from different universities/ institutions: www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/ir/ircountry_hkdse.html
At secondary school level, students are seeking foundation studies designed for international students to prepare for university entry and private schools that offer articulated courses with universities.
Study tours with an English course component are also popular for Hong Kong students during the summer period in July and August.
Training opportunities exist for the following categories and industries:
- Coaching
- Team building
- Management and leadership skills
- Risk management
- Environment, health and safety
- Finance and security
- Logistics and supply chain management
- Aged care
- Creative arts
- Wine
Competitive environment
The Hong Kong education market remains highly competitive, with already strong activity from the UK and USA and New Zealand expected to intensify.
The transnational education market is highly competitive. The main challenge will be to maintain and improve competitiveness against stiff competition from other transnational education providers from the UK, USA and Mainland China.
Education exhibitions, interview programs, newspaper advertisements are the major competitive activities being used by the overseas institutions to attract students for overseas studies. E-marketing and social media is growing in popularity in Hong Kong. Placing an online banner on Yahoo!HK or setting up a Facebook fan page has been widely used as a promotional tool by institutions and their representative education agents.
There are many local and international training organisations in Hong Kong including the Hong Kong Productivity Council, Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong Securities Institute, ABRS Professional Learning Services, Asia Pacific Management Institute. They offer a wide range of training services including executive management, marketing, information technology, financial services, etc.
|