Local graduates losing job edge
Only 20 per cent of Chinese enterprises are willing to employ local tertiary graduates as more and more of their mainland peers possess strong English-language skills and an international outlook that were once the competitive advantages of Hong Kong graduates.
That is the finding of a survey conducted by two organisations that have extensive networks with mainland enterprises. The Asia Pacific Junior Elite Association and the International Financial Management Association canvassed 316 medium-sized to large enterprises from January to March on their views on local graduates and manpower demand.
Only 7 per cent of the enterprises have Hong Kong employees, compared with 27 per cent in 2005 and 58 per cent in 2003. Only 20 per cent of the firms are willing to employ Hong Kong graduates, compared with around 60 per cent in 2003 and 2005.
Roy Lo Wa-kei, the survey leader and the partner of a mainland accounting firm, cites a list of factors for the waning enthusiasm among mainland employers in hiring local graduates.
'The high salary expectations of local graduates diminish employers' willingness to employ them,' Lo said.
Other factors include local candidates' 'poor Putonghua proficiency and lack of knowledge of Chinese business ethos and government systems', he said. 'The increasing number of mainland graduates that have received an overseas education also lessens the demand for Hong Kong graduates.'
