Starting from 4 January 2007, vehicle mechanics in possession of necessary qualification and/or experience may apply through this Scheme for becoming registered vehicle mechanics so that their qualification and competence will gain recognition.

The Scheme aims at enhancing the standard of the local vehicle maintenance trade. By adopting a progressive approach and launching a voluntary scheme first, it is intended to minimize impacts to the trade and to provide flexibility for future adjustments to the Scheme in light of developments and needs of the community and the trade.

We hope that the implementation of the Scheme will not only uplift the professional image of the vehicle maintenance trade but also bring about benefits to the public and vehicle owners.

For detailed information and application method of the registration scheme, please click here.

Background Information

While mechanical defect of vehicle has not been a major contributory factor of road accidents, proper maintenance of vehicles is certainly an effective means to prevent accidents and is conducive to the enhancement of road safety. In addition, sub-standard maintenance services would create nuisance to vehicle owners and bring about air pollution, which would have negative impacts on the health of the public. For these reasons, the government considers it necessary to enhance the standard of the vehicle maintenance trade.

In order to gauge the views of the trade on different aspects of the proposed registration scheme, we conducted a survey in late 2004. Prior to the survey, we compiled a comprehensive database of around 2,600 vehicle maintenance workshops in operation in Hong Kong according to the lists provided by the Census & Statistics Department and the Vocational Training Council. A consultation paper setting out the key proposals for the registration scheme was then provided to members of the trade before commencement of the survey. Based on random sampling, 750 vehicle maintenance workshops were covered in the survey. The samples comprised a good mix of workshops of different sizes. A total of 649 workshop operators and 1,314 vehicle mechanics were interviewed. For details of the survey results, please click here.

The findings of the survey show that the majority of workshop operators and vehicle mechanics prefer to adopt an incremental approach by first launching a voluntary scheme. The government reported the findings of the survey and the proposed way forward to the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport in May 2005 and gained their support to establishing a Vehicle Maintenance Technical Advisory Committee with the trade and setting up a Vehicle Maintenance Registration Unit under EMSD to launch the scheme. For details of the associated LegCo paper, please click here.

Vehicle Maintenance Technical Advisory Committee

To ensure that the detailed arrangements of the registration scheme can meet the needs of the trade, the Vehicle Maintenance Technical Advisory Committee (VMTAC) was established in May 2006 with members from trade associations, professional institutions, training institutes, transport operators employing large number of vehicle mechanics, vehicle suppliersˇ¦ associations, vehicle ownersˇ¦ association, relevant government departments, and an independent person nominated by the Home Affairs Bureau. Members of the VMTAC are appointed by the Secretary for Transport and Housing. The VMTAC is chaired by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services. For the terms of reference and the current membership list of the VMTAC, please click here.

To facilitate effective discussion and finalization of various details of the registration scheme, three Sub-Committees, namely the Registration Sub-Committee, the Training and Monitoring Sub-Committee and the Publicity Sub-Committee, have been formed with members from the VMTAC. Each Sub-Committee is chaired by a Convenor who is elected among the members of the respective Sub-Committee and is from the trade. The Sub-Committees report progress and make recommendations to the VMTAC for endorsement of various implementation details of the registration scheme.

Vehicle Maintenance Registration Unit

The Vehicle Maintenance Registration Unit (VMRU) has been set up under EMSD. The VMRU provides administrative support to the VMTAC, carrys out preparatory work for the voluntary registration scheme for vehicle mechanics, and is responsible for the day-to-day management and operational functions for the registration scheme.

Seminars

To facilitate the vehicle maintenance trade, in particular the in-service vehicle mechanics, to understand the registration scheme details and to encourage active participation of members of the trade to the scheme, the VMTAC in association with EMSD have conducted four seminars in December 2006 and January 2007.

Enquiries

For enquiries about the Scheme, please contact the

Vehicle Maintenance Registration Unit

Telephone	:	2808 3867
Fax	:	3521 1565
Email	:	vmru@emsd.gov.hk
Address	:	Electrical and Mechanical Services Department 3 Kai Shing Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong

or dial the Citizen's Easy Link 1823.