About $6.5 million has been set aside for running 39 courses under 115 classes this year to boost the skills of the TV, film and entertainment industry and to promote creative industries' development, the Education & Manpower Bureau says.

The Skills Upgrading Scheme will roll out the courses in late July for the first time since the sector joined the scheme in February. The courses will be available for enrolment in mid-June. They cover a wide range of training from TV/film production to post-production services and facilities.

The bureau said courses are devised through the consensus of the employers, employees, the Government and the industry training providers with a view to addressing its manpower needs and enhancing the existing standards of TV and film.

Courses will embrace a wide array of different topics for producers, actors, costume designers, cinematographers and technical crews to enhance their professional and technological capabilities and skills for future development.

Professional trainers with a wealth of experience in their fields or outstanding award-winners who have earned the respect of the industry will teach the courses.

The Government will subsidise 70% of the cost while the remaining 30% will be paid by the trainees and/or employers.

The Skills Upgrading Scheme, launched in September 2001, aims to provide focused skills training for in-service workers with lower education to enhance their skills and competitiveness in the labour market. So far 19 industries are covered under the scheme.