Virginia Choi has come a long way since her United Christian Hospital (UCH) roots, where she worked in community relations (CR), offering social services, community mental health education and, eventually, into human resources (HR), focusing on staff training - the profession where she is now an industry leader.
She started out when the city's training industry was in its infancy. Choi, then 18 years old, went to the Social Welfare Department to enrol in its then professional standard for social workers, a two-year Certificate in Social Work.
She successfully applied for a social work position there but realised she was under-qualified, as all the other members of her team had university qualifications. So she topped up her qualifications at evening school.
Following a one-year Certificate in Personnel Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic (now PolyU), she was the only student in the class of 40 with a social work background.
Choi changed career track by at first volunteering in the UCH training department. When a departmental vacancy arose, Choi was invited to apply, and got it.
After seven years at UCH, Choi returned to school to improve her long-term career prospects.
She also joined the Hong Kong Institute of Personnel Management, now the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management (HKIHRM).