Hong Kong is facing a crisis in the supply of well-educated workers at a time when jobs in the hi-tech and professional sectors are set to surge.
Urgent measures, including a possible relaxation on the importation of mainland professionals, might be needed to meet the shortfall, a senior official said yesterday.
The Government's 'Manpower Projection to 2005' study shows the need for workers will grow from 2.9 million last year to 3.3 million in 2005 - an annual growth rate of 2.4 per cent, or an increase of 433,600 jobs.
Finance, insurance, property and business services will create the biggest demand, with the Government forecasting 176,000 new jobs created in the sectors over the next five years.
After matching projected staffing requirements, it is expected there will be a shortage of 116,900 jobs requiring education levels of secondary and above.
'Unless we are able to address this mismatch, we may not be able to take full advantage of the new job opportunities that may arise and this may affect Hong Kong's progressive transformation into a knowledge-based economy,' Secretary for Education and Manpower Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun said.
'On the issue of importing professionals, our data has shown that there is a shortage of qualified manpower in areas such as information technology and financial services.'