By LIANG TAO, CRI Hong Kong Correspondent
 
Demand by Hong Kong civil servants for external training programs has risen since the introduction of the five-day working week in the summer.

Anthony Mak, an assistant principal training officer for the government Training and Development Institution, said demand by frontline staff for the training programs had increased noticeably.

There were about 675 applications for the sponsorship scheme between April and December, an increase of 80 per cent over the total for the 2005-06 financial year.

The External Training Sponsorship Scheme for frontline staff is aimed at enhancing their ability to meet new challenges.

To meet demand, the administration has raised the ceiling of government sponsorship from 2,000 HK dollars to 6,000 dollars.

Courses provided by universities or institutions in Hong Kong relating to civil servants' work include business English writing, an introduction to database management, emotion control, and presentation skills.