Early in the twenties of the 20th century, vehicle agents have been importing and selling vehicles in Hong Kong. However, vehicle was still a remote luxury item to the majority of the general public. With the Government’s abolition of the preferential policy of special tax on British vehicles in the sixties and the rapid development of vehicle industry in Japan, importers of various vehicle brands started to set up one after another. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s economy began to blossom, fostering the continuous growth of vehicle sales and attracting more vehicle agents to import different vehicle brands. Moreover, modernised management and computer application have significantly enhanced the effectiveness of vehicle design and production, resulting in product diversification and continuous enhancement in quality. The price of vehicles also dropped correspondingly with the reduction in the cost of vehicles, allowing more people to have the ability of buying vehicles. Following the continuous economic growth in Hong Kong, well-developed land transportation between China and Hong Kong and the increasing prosperity of the general public, the demand for private cars and commercial vehicles have increased continuously. The Government’s effort in developing roads and public roads has brought about an even better road transportation and traffic network which has a positive effect on the growth of vehicles. Apart from the sales of new vehicles, the used vehicle market is also very active. There are a number of traders specialised in the buying and selling of used vehicles.

Vehicle servicing plays an important part in the automotive industry, particularly to road safety and environmental protection. In response to market demand, vehicle servicing is not only provided by the maintenance departments of vehicle agents, but also by small and medium-sized garages with services largely provided by the latter in comparison. According to the Manpower Survey Report on the Automotive Industry 2006, there were about 12 400 technical workers in Hong Kong engaging in vehicle servicing work. As a usual practice, warranty period and specified preliminary maintenance services will be provided by vehicle distributors during transaction. Car owners may choose to join maintenance/servicing plan to keep their cars in good condition. Apart from that, the Government has put in place the mandatory vehicle examination scheme and environmental protection ordinances to ensure that the driving performance and exhaust emission of vehicles can meet legislative requirements. It can be seen that the demand for up-to-standard vehicle servicing is becoming more important.

Vehicle agents are also major suppliers of spare parts. They sell spare parts to their own maintenance departments and other customers whereas tyres, batteries, light bulbs, audio-visual equipment, various accessories and non-original parts, etc. are sold by other distributors. According to Government statistics recorded in December 2007, there were more than 1 100 retailing organisations of vehicles and auto parts with about 5 300 people being employed.

Regarding vehicle body building and design, Hong Kong has been involved in vehicle body building for commercial vehicles, including bus and vehicles for special purposes, to meet local needs. Some of the commercial vehicles are originally imported but due to the extensive usage of commercial vehicles, vehicles of different purposes need to have different body specification. Local traders will provide vehicle body design and building services according to customers’ requirements whereas agents will import vehicle chassis as well as design and build the vehicle body and related accessories according to the requirements of customers.

Hong Kong's automotive industry mainly lies in vehicle sales and after-sales services. After-sales services include servicing, sales of spare parts and other related services. Vehicle operators in Hong Kong will focus on different market segment in light of the capabilities and experience of the organisations. General brand agents will provide both vehicle sales and after-sales services. Some of the vehicle operators who are not agents of brand vehicles will only provide either vehicle sales services or after-sales services, while some will provide both. Vehicle sales services mainly involve the sales of vehicle products. Practitioners should master the techniques of selling vehicle products and possess certain knowledge on the vehicle market, marketing plans and marketing, etc. After-sales services mainly cover the inspection, maintenance, fault diagnosis and servicing of the entire vehicle and various systems as well as installation of accessories, etc. The job categories and functional areas of Hong Kong’s automotive industry may vary according to organisational operation pattern and specification. As there are numerous job categories and an extensive coverage of functional areas in the automotive industry, practitioners should possess professional knowledge on vehicles so as to guarantee the industry’s quality of service.

The sales figure of vehicles often has immediate response towards economic fluctuation and is also affected by the Government’s levy on vehicle tax and other related policies. According to statistic figures, the value of sales of goods for vehicles, parts and accessories in Hong Kong amounted at $1,036M in January 2008, which was 25.2% higher than the same period in previous year. In 2007, the annual value totaled at 11,663M, which was 20% higher than 2006. Due to the limited land resources in Hong Kong, the Government has wished to control the number of vehicles to avoid its speedy growth. In January 2008, the number of registered vehicles in Hong Kong was around 625 000 which was 14% higher than a decade ago. In light of Hong Kong’s continuous positive economic growth, it is anticipated that the demand for vehicles will continue to increase. Besides, the constant renewal of style and performance of private cars and automotive accessories has a positive effect on increasing the public’s consumption sentiments.

Currently, there are over 12 000 technical workers engaged in vehicle servicing work. Technological advancement, changes in the trend of vehicle design and enhancement in the durability of automotive parts etc., have led to a reduction in the demand for vehicle servicing manpower. Despite the fact that the total number of vehicles had increased by 14% over the recent decade, there was a slight drop in the number of workforce. Following the development of vehicle technology, especially the application of electronic techniques, servicing workers have to keep on acquiring new skills to meet the requirements of modern vehicle servicing. The job nature of vehicle servicing has gradually shifted from a labour intensive level to a professionally technical level, particularly in the field of fault diagnosis. Apart from possessing knowledge on vehicles, practitioners should also have good analytical power and the capability of operating auxiliary equipment. According to current legislation, all commercial vehicles and private cars over six years of age should undergo annual inspection to ensure that their performance can meet road safety requirements. Moreover, the Environmental and Protection Department has been strengthening the monitoring work on vehicle emission, which has in turn enhanced the requirement of vehicle servicing standard.

With regard to the training of manpower, the current professional pre-vocational programmes on vehicles provide the pathway for young people to join the industry. The training will effectively facilitate them to enter the industry in future. The long-established apprenticeship training system in vehicle servicing is an effective way to nurture technical talents. Not only will the apprentices receive practical job training, but they will also have to acquire the professional knowledge of vehicles. The enterprises also capitalise on the Engineering Graduate Training Scheme to attract and nurture engineering graduates to join the automotive industry. Besides, the Government launched the Skills Upgrading Scheme on Automotive Industry in 2006 to actively provide training to current practitioners in the industry with a view to enhance their professional knowledge and skills so as to increase their employment competitiveness. Apart from the aforesaid training schemes and courses, vehicle agents will also focus on the needs of their employees and the company to provide relevant training on vehicle products. They will also implement the training plans formulated by the company to ensure that employees can acquire the knowledge of special skills and the service standard required by relevant brands. As for practitioners in small and medium-sized garages, they are usually motivated by trade association and trade union as well as their own initiatives to take relevant in-service training courses so as to acquire the new knowledge and skills in the industry. It has been generally agreed by the industry that pre-vocational training and continuing education are crucial to the practitioners of the automotive industry. The current Voluntary Registration Scheme for Vehicle Mechanics implemented by the Government also shows that continuing education is the basic requirement of registered mechanics. Since Hong Kong has been keen on developing industries in the service sectors such as finance and tourism, young people have little interest in joining technical industries. Hence, it is necessary for the automotive industry to pay effort to attract outstanding talents. The industry hopes that employees, employers, the Government and training providers can establish joint efforts in various aspects to absorb and train the talents in the automotive industry to achieve desirable results.

There has been a rapid growth in the number of vehicles in Mainland China. The annual sales volume of vehicles rose from 1.4 million in 1995 to 8.8 million in 2007, which was only second to the United States and China had become the country scoring the second highest sales volume. Meanwhile, the automotive industry enjoyed a big boost in the Mainland China with enterprises engaging in developing their own vehicle brands and establishing cooperation with overseas vehicle manufacturers. Since China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, the automotive market in Mainland China has experienced an increasingly drastic growth.

Due to the blooming development of the Mainland China’s automotive market, Hong Kong traders have started to operate the businesses of vehicle sales and after-sales services in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta in the early nineties. Following the economic growth in the Mainland and the increasing demand for vehicles, Hong Kong traders’ automotive businesses in the Mainland will have tremendous potential in the future.

Vehicle sales in Hong Kong are affected by many factors, such as local economic condition and activities, the purchasing power of the public, Government policy on traffic and roads, the complementary strategies of road traffic as well as the styles and performance of vehicles, etc. Looking forward, the continual vigorous economy of the Mainland will foster positive economic growth in Hong Kong. Moreover, the Government will continue with the work in road construction to satisfy public demand. With advancement in technology, safer, more reliable, environmental-friendly and highly cost-effective vehicles can be manufactured with a wider variety of styles. All these factors are conducive to the automotive industry. Nevertheless, the change of our economic structure due to economic fluctuation had resulted in higher sales of high-price cars and lower sales of low-price cars. Hence, practitioners of the industry should always keep their eyes sharp to cope with changes. Given the fact that Hong Kong has a large population but with limited land resources, the Government has hoped to control the number and utilisation level of vehicles so as to ease the pressure of incessant road construction. From the environmental protection perspective, the Government also encourages the public to use public vehicles more and private vehicles less, so as to reduce vehicle emission. Besides, the Government is consulting the public on the feasibility of the Electronic Road Pricing Scheme and the mandatory measures on motorists to switch off their vehicle engines while waiting. Coupled with the launching the Tax Incentives for Environment-friendly Petrol Private Cars, the Incentive Scheme to replace a Pre-Euro and Euro I Diesel Commercial Vehicle by New Commercial Vehicles and the adoption of tighter fuel and vehicle emission standards etc., it will all bring forth changes to the vehicle market. It is necessary for the industry to adjust its marketing strategy to support environmental protection and to continue expanding business.

There has been a significant change of technological application in vehicles over the last two decades driven by technological advancement and the requirements of customers. The focus of training on servicing techniques has shifted from workmanship to fault diagnosis because vehicle servicing has to rely on electronic information and electronic instruments to become more professional. Vehicle servicing technicians have to keep acquiring new techniques to cope with new challenges. As it is anticipated that changes will continue at an even faster pace, continuing education is essential to the employees. The Voluntary Registration Scheme for Vehicle Mechanics launched by the Government also requires practitioners to continue their study. Apart from that, the adoption of tighter vehicle emission standards by the Government will enhance the standard of vehicle servicing. It is necessary for people of the industry to take corresponding measures to ensure that the serviced vehicles can meet the standard of exhaust emission and the requirements of other road regulations. On the front of human resources, the industry has to train more talents to complement the needs of market development.

In view of the industry’s current situation and future development trend, it is imminent that the Specification of Competency Standards (SCS) be formulated to provide a solid framework for training to enhance the industry’s technical capability, competitiveness and quality of service.

The SCS consists of competency standards of different levels. Competency standards are benchmarks for the industry-specific knowledge, professional skills and soft skills required for performing different job functions of the industry. The functional areas and competency standards under SCS will be practical and competence-based. The SCS not only sets out the professional knowledge and skills required for today, but also takes into account factors such as the development trend of both the industry and the society.

In the long run, the industry-recognised SCS will become the blueprint for training. It will not only ensure that training providers can meet the industry’s present and future needs by offering training courses covering all the knowledge and skills required by the industry, but also provide employees with a clear set of learning pathways, so that they can draw up their own learning and career roadmaps. As such, the SCS will complement the full-scale implementation of the Qualifications Framework by the Government.

Since the SCS is established by the industry, it is indicated that the training programmes can meet the requirements of the industry. Upon completion of the SCS-based programmes, trainees will possess skills that can be objectively measured. Such information may facilitate employers to identify suitable talents; thus reducing possible losses incurred by unfit appointments, as well as shortening the new recruits' adaptation period and minimising related costs.

The Automotive Industry Training Advisory Committee (ITAC), comprising representatives of employers, employees, the Government and professional bodies of the industry, has prepared a preliminary version of “SCS for the Automotive Industry – Section A. Operation, Sales, Services and Parts Management Sector” with reference to its current status and development trend, as well as the standard and format adopted in the Mainland and overseas, with a view to providing practitioners with clear guidelines for devising their own learning and career roadmaps.

The SCS for the automotive industry is divided into two sectors, i.e. Part I-Operation, Sales, Services and Parts Management and Part II-Manufacturing of Vehicle Parts. In view of the extensive coverage of the automotive industry, this SCS version is focused on Part I while Part II will be developed in the next stage.