In the review report published by the HKSAR Governement’s Task Force on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) in 2020, the Task Force recommended that VPET should establish itself as a more prominent value-added pathway with the prestigious qualification it deserves, to match the perceived excellence enshrined in its academic counterpart. Professional Qualifications Pathways, like the Vocational Qualifications Pathways, should be developed for practitioners with a focus on recognised skill-based qualifications that are not underpinned by associated learning programmes.

In response to the recommendation made by the Task Force, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) started to undertake an initiative – Professional Qualifications Pathway for Skills Practitioners in 2020. This initiative aims to establish a value-borne progression pathway for in-service practitioners through a Qualifications Framework (QF) recognised skill-based qualification. In respect of this, the German Meister system offers a vaulauable reference for developing a Mesiter learning programme for skilled workers in Hong Kong as this system aims to equip Meister candidates with the occupational, pedagogical and managerial competences necessary for the chosen professions. It would also help further professionalise industry practitioners and strengthen the local VPET articulation pathway. As a start, lift and escalator engineering (LEE) was selected as the first industry where seasoned registered lift and escalator workers are provided with an opportunity to strive for the title of Meister, in the name of Skills Master or Indsutry Master through the Professional Diploma Meister in Lift and Escalator Engineering (PDM-LEE) programme, the first of its kind as a skill-based qualification at QF level 5, which is a major milestone of VPET development in Hong Kong.

Apart from traditional bachelor’s degree programmes in Hong Kong that are academically oriented, a variety of learning and teaching methods and activities will be used to develop students’ critical thinking, judgement, practical skills and active learning orientation. The learning and teaching strategy for this Meister Programme is built on a dual training model, combing on-job and off-job learning. This recognises that students will be working in an environment where they will be able to naturally apply the skills, knowledge and attributes they acquired throughout the Programme. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of this innovative teaching and learning ideas, and how this programme helps the in-service skill-based practitioners to further develop their vocational progression pathways in Hong Kong.