In the past, the training of Cantonese opera performers and practitioners in related departments followed the master–apprentice model. Since establishing the Cantonese Opera Academy, the Association has worked continuously to train the next generation of the industry. Because Hong Kong society as a whole does not place great emphasis on the arts as an academic subject, Cantonese opera training courses could only be held outside school hours. The Academy ran performer training courses in the 1980s, but they were suspended for a time owing to renovation of the Academy. Later, when Wong Ming-Chuen became Chairman, she hoped that the courses organised by the Association would gain further recognition from society, and in 1996 the Association co-organised a Certificate Course in Cantonese Opera Training (Elementary and Advanced) with the School of Continuing Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; in 1998 it co-organised related courses with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. As the Academy for Performing Arts began to run full-time certificate, diploma and degree programmes in Cantonese opera from 1999, the Association changed its training objectives and turned the courses into Cantonese Opera Training Classes for Young Performers, admitting young people aged 13 to 18, who may, after completing the course, apply for articulated programmes at universities or the Academy for Performing Arts. Besides performer training, the Association also runs training classes in other specialist areas of Cantonese opera, so as to ensure that the art is passed on in a standardised way.