Civil Service College Launches Inaugural Sharing Session of HoD Fellowship to Enhance Leadership Mindset and Departmental Management Capabilities

Inaugural session of Heads of Department Fellowship held

The Civil Service College (CSC) held the inaugural sharing session of the Heads of Department (HoD) Fellowship today (August 5), with the aim of strengthening leadership mindset and enhancing departmental management capabilities. At the session, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, encouraged HoDs to practise proactive leadership by establishing effective management teams and operating systems, as well as fostering a positive culture of continuous improvement, so as to enhance the governance effectiveness of departments.

In his opening remarks, Mr Chan said that HoDs are not only policy implementers and the ultimate parties accountable for departmental performance, but also helmsmen of departments and shapers of organisational culture. HoDs should demonstrate "proactive leadership" in all areas of day-to-day management, develop a thorough understanding of operational realities and potential problems, and establish effective feedback mechanisms. They should also ensure that manpower deployment and financial resources are aligned with policy objectives, and take full accountability for their departments' overall performance.

He remarked that the success of the HoD Accountability System lies not in the number of investigations activated, but in the continuous enhancement of departments' execution capabilities through the proactive leadership of HoDs, ensuring effective implementation of policy measures and enhancing the overall standard of governance, while delivering tangible benefits to the public. This is the true purpose of the Accountability System. He also encouraged participants to make good use of this exchange platform to share experiences, pool the strength of solidarity and co-operation, uphold their original aspiration of serving Hong Kong, and continue to do their utmost for the public.

Addressing the session, Mrs Yeung pointed out that the performance of civil servants is the key to improving governance. HoDs must personally lead human resource management, ensuring that human resource strategies are closely tied to their departments' overall work objectives and development needs. The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) has been actively strengthening relevant measures, including implementing the Performance Appraisal Enhancement Scheme for Civil Servants (Phase 1) in October this year, to more accurately reflect and differentiate the work performance of civil servants. The CSC has also been actively cultivating a culture within the civil service that values training, and launched the GovCPD Scheme last month to set out continuous learning requirements for civil servants. The CSB will continue to support departments in human resource management on multiple fronts, with a view to further enhancing departmental performance and the overall effectiveness of the Government.

The HoD Fellowship also serves as a platform for information exchanges, enhancing the exchanges of experiences and exploring and promoting best practices among departments. During the sharing session, the Head of the CSC, Mr Oscar Kwok, invited HoDs to share their experiences and insights on enhancing departmental services.

About 140 Permanent Secretaries, HoDs and their deputies from 63 bureaux and departments attended today's sharing session.

The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address announced the establishment of the HoD Accountability System, explaining clearly the concept of administrative accountability on the part of civil servants with managerial roles, especially that of HoDs, and introducing a new Administrative Responsibility Two-tier Investigation Mechanism for handling problems.

The Civil Service College held the inaugural sharing session of the Heads of Department (HoD) Fellowship today (August 5), with the aim of strengthening leadership mindset and enhancing departmental management capabilities. About 140 Permanent Secretaries, HoDs and their deputies from 63 bureaux and departments attended. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Civil Service College held the inaugural sharing session of the Heads of Department Fellowship today (August 5), with the aim of strengthening leadership mindset and enhancing departmental management capabilities. Photo shows the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, delivering a speech at the session. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Civil Service College held the inaugural sharing session of the Heads of Department Fellowship today (August 5), with the aim of strengthening leadership mindset and enhancing departmental management capabilities. Photo shows the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, delivering opening remarks at the session. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Suspected use of fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate at private housing estate's swimming pool in Happy Valley

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (August 6) that a life-saving attendant at the licensed swimming pool of a private housing estate, located at 1-5 Ventris Road, Happy Valley, is suspected of using a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate. As the qualification of the life-saving attendant is in doubt and the swimming pool has allegedly failed to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants as required by law, the FEHD has ordered the immediate closure of the pool and is considering prosecuting its licensee. The incident has been reported to the Police, and the FEHD has also notified the Property Management Services Authority to take parallel follow-up action.

Officers from the FEHD yesterday (August 5) verified a batch of lifeguard records with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS), and received the verification result today. It is discovered that the credentials of a life-saving attendant on duty at the aforementioned swimming pool yesterday did not match the records of the HKCLSS. The FEHD immediately took action regarding the pool.

The spokesman stressed, "Swimming pool licensees must strictly comply with the Swimming Pools Regulation (Cap. 132CA) and the licensing conditions, ensuring that sufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty during the opening hours of the pool. The FEHD will continue to implement various regulatory measures, including stepping up surprise inspections and increasing the frequency of spot checks during the peak swimming season."

Since May 2025, the FEHD has implemented a series of enhancement measures, including stepping up surprise inspections, clearly stipulating the responsibility of licensees to verify the qualifications of life-saving attendants, introducing a tiered penalty mechanism, and strengthening collaboration with relevant organisations. From January to the end of July this year, officers from the FEHD had conducted about 7 000 inspections of over 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory, and had verified the qualifications of about 2 100 life-saving attendants through the HKCLSS. According to the records, since the implementation of enhanced regulatory measures in 2025, the FEHD also discovered a case involving the suspected employment of unqualified life-saving attendants on duty in 2025.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities properly, the FEHD explicitly requires them through licensing conditions to verify the identity documents of life-saving attendants before employment, and to keep copies of their Pool Lifeguard Awards and personal logbooks on proper record. The FEHD has also established a standard template of life-saving attendants' duty records. Licensees are required to clearly record the relevant information of life-saving attendants on duty in accordance with the prescribed format, and the records have to be verified and signed by both the inspecting staff assigned by the licensees and the life-saving attendants. FEHD officers will check the relevant records as necessary during inspections or complaint investigations, and will follow up on any violations.

In addition, the FEHD will continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant organisations and regulatory bodies to enhance compliance with the regulatory measures. This includes sustaining close liaison with the HKCLSS and making good use of its mechanism for verifying life-saving attendants' qualifications, and strengthening co-operation with the Property Management Services Authority to require property management companies to exercise strict gatekeeping over the recruitment procedures of life-saving attendants.

The FEHD will continue to implement the relevant measures straightly to enhance the safety standards of licensed swimming pools and safeguard the safety of swimming pool users. Members of the public are called on to take part in the monitoring and report suspected cases of irregularities to the department.

Source: AI-found images