As at 31 March 2005, the Land Registry had a total establishment of 486 posts. As a long-standing staffing strategy, the Registry maintains a flexible workforce by employing up to 15% of its staff on non-civil service contract terms. Such temporary employment allows the Registry to be more responsive to fluctuation in business volume while keeping its fees and charges at a low level.

The quality of our human resources is a critical success factor in the Land Registry's performance and future development. In recognition of this, we take a strategic approach in staff training and development, linking training and development initiatives to our Vision, Mission and Values. We formulate and review our training policies regularly with due regard to our business demands. We draw up a Departmental Training Plan annually to set out the blueprint for our training activities for the year. Each year, we select a theme for staff development with a view to promoting culture alignment. During 2004/05 we focused our training on the knowledge and skills required to operate IRIS in support of the changes brought about by central registration under the Strategic Change Plan. Practical hands-on training was provided to staff to enhance their proficiency and confidence in the use of IRIS and enable them to carry out their duties effectively.