Are Hong Kong’s university students ready for the workplace of the future?

Years of toiling over excessive homework and rote learning to cope with make-or-break exams seem to have failed to prepare Hong Kong’s youngsters for the workplace, which might trigger post-university stress, according to experts.

Educators and a lawmaker are calling for wide-ranging changes to how schools teach students – such as introducing life-planning education at junior secondary level and putting more emphasis on greater diversity in education and career paths to overhaul the current exam-oriented system.

Their remarks came after a recent study suggested that local students are less prepared than those in Singapore and South Korea for a future work environment where technology is expected to change the global work landscape.

Hong Kong not equipping students for the future as well as Singapore or South Korea, study says

“Hong Kong students are, in general, diligent and hardworking,” said Jennifer Ma Yin-wai, a co-founder and director of Arch Education, a private institute in Hong Kong that offers tutoring and helps prepare students for university.

“The government is also trying to push for diversity in education by giving grants to schools in the promotion of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] and life planning initiatives,” she said. “However, the ultimate driver for creativity and positivity in students’ learning mindset is the ability to generate intrinsic motivation.”

Ma, who had worked as a banker with Goldman Sachs, found “a gap and disconnect between education and the real world” when she was recruiting fresh graduates to the US company in 2008.

“We found lots of the candidates, despite graduating from top universities with a comprehensive list of extra-curricula activities and star-rated academic background, did not exhibit the key transferable skills and mentality necessary in the workplace.”