Students of the Engineering Discipline of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) have been awarded scholarships worth over HK$1 million donated by Chevalier Group to groom local talent in the fields of engineering and construction. Held on 12 July (Friday), the Chevalier Group Scholarship Presentation Ceremony was evidence of industry’s recognition of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) as well its pressing need for manpower equipped with professional knowledge and skills.

A total of 40 VTC students were awarded the scholarships this year, worth HK$10,000 to HK$40,000 each. They are studying Higher Diploma and Diploma of Vocational Education (DVE) programmes in areas of Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building Services Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer and Electronic Engineering. The scholarships are established for two academic years benefitting a total of 80 engineering students of VTC.

VTC thanked industry for providing resources to train the younger generation, enabling students to succeed, who will in turn help drive the sustainable development of the engineering and construction industry. Chevalier Group has all along provided internship opportunities for VTC engineering students in areas like electrical and mechanical engineering, lift maintenance, and environmental engineering, allowing them to grasp practical skills for future career development.

One of the awardees is WONG Ho-lam, Year One student of Higher Diploma in Computer and Electronic Engineering offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE). Ho-lam took to studying electronic parts in his secondary school years. Having completed the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) last year, he enrolled on the IVE programme in view of the burgeoning smart city market. He was deeply interested in the many electronic and communications engineering projects involved, like electronic road pricing, smart lampposts and smart home living and would like to keep abreast of the latest developments and acquire the requisite professional knowledge.

During his IVE study, Ho-lam was taught a balanced mix of theory and practice in subjects like computing, and electronic, and communications engineering. Achieving a near full score GPA (Grade Point Average) academically, he particularly loved the hands-on classes where they started from scratch to assemble a thermometer, hygrometer, or timer, all of which tools related to electronics theories.

This summer, internship has been arranged for Ho-lam in an electronic technology enterprise. He says that he will make good use of the HK$40,000 scholarship to explore more opportunities to learn, and he hopes to put the electronic engineering knowledge acquired to use in the future. With a vow to become an electronic engineer before the age of 30, he would like to contribute to smart city development, particularly on the improvement and optimisaton of facilities in the environmental ecosystem.