As commissioned by the Government, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) will administer the Urban Forestry Support Fund – Trainee Programme starting from 10 August 2020. This programme encourages employers to engage and train arboriculture and tree management graduates to become quality arborists and tree climbers to support tree management and maintenance work in Hong Kong.
“The Trainee Programme deploys the ‘first-hire-then-train’ principle. In collaboration with employers, the programme will enable arboriculture and tree management graduates to receive on-the-job training to acquire necessary working experience. With our experience in administering structured on-the-job training in collaboration with contractors for various trades in the construction industry, we are confident that the Trainee Programme can provide quality training to graduates, paving the way for qualified arborists and tree climbers in the future,” said Ir Albert Cheng, Executive Director of the CIC.
The Trainee Programme is applicable to graduates of arboriculture, tree management and tree work programmes at Levels 3–5 of the Qualifications Framework offered by local vocational, tertiary and training institutions. The programme will provide training allowance at about 30 per cent of agreed monthly remuneration levels to trainees through their employers, as well as a bonus at HKD30,000 and HKD20,000 upon their acquisition of recognised arborist or tree climber professional qualifications respectively.
The Trainee Programme accepts applications from employers throughout the year. For further details of the programme, please visit Urban Forestry Support Fund – Trainee Programme page. — Construction+ Online
