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LOOK AROUND ALMOST any office in Hong Kong and you can expect to see something manufactured by Karrie International Holdings.

As one of the world's leading producers of computer and server casings and office automation products, the company is an OEM supplier for technology leaders such as Canon, IBM, Fujitsu and Siemens, and prides itself on filling mass volume orders in a short  time.

With business booming, Karrie is  gearing up for further expansion.

The company is recruiting engineers with diverse expertise for its electronic manufacturing services business.

This was set up four years ago and has overtaken the more traditional metal and plastic businesses to account for more than half of the company's turnover.

Assistant administration director Silvia Chan said turnover rose from $600 million five years ago to $1.7 billion  last year, and was projected to reach $2.4 billion this financial year.

This growth translates into a need for engineers and management-level executives to join the company's workforce of 4,000.

'In the past, we used to recruit mainly managerial staff to supervise our factories in China but now we need more engineers,' Ms Chan said.

New recruits will be stationed in one of the company's two Dongguan facilities or in a new factory to be opened in the same area next year.

The openings are for test engineering managers, who as troubleshooters will have to test items and fix defects in the production process. The company also plans to hire several product introduction engineers to work with clients and develop new items for manufacture.

Ms Chan said the company would be taking on recent graduates with degrees in industrial or manufacturing engineering from Hong Kong universities.

They would join a two-year training programme leading to roles as project engineers or specialising in the design and fabrication of moulds.

Ms Chan said it had been difficult to find suitable candidates on the mainland to fill these positions.

'Even when we get good mainland candidates, it is sometimes hard to retain them, since engineers are in great demand in the mainland market and it is very easy for them to move to other companies. Therefore, we now want to train a new group of engineers to cater for our own needs.'

Karrie prefers to employ Hong Kong graduates as their English is generally of a higher standard. Starting salary levels are similar to those of their mainland counterparts.

Ms Chan said Hong Kong candidates also tend to have a broader international perspective. This is essential for engineers expected to deal with clients from Japan, Europe and the United States, representing many of the world's leading corporations in the computer and office automation industries.

The company is also looking for experienced purchasing supervisors whose duties would include training mainland-employed junior colleagues in their field.

Ms Chan said Hong Kong candidates had an advantage over mainlanders trying for these positions and also for  middle to upper management-level  jobs. Most employers found Hong Kong-trained staff to be generally more efficient.

Ms Chan said the company had a performance-based system whereby opportunities for advancement were tied to scores achieved by individuals in their annual appraisals.

Engineering trainees could expect to be promoted automatically to engineer grade on completing the two-year training period. Those who excelled might be asked to head a small team in their respective departments.

'Our aim is to train Hong Kong staff to become the middle and senior management of our company,' Ms Chan said.

As an incentive to boost staff performance, the company issues share options to management employees whose performance has been outstanding.

'By making them shareholders in the company, we can ensure they will continue to work hard,' she said. To illustrate how the scheme had expanded, she said that the number of staff awarded share options increased from 18 in 2000 to 134 this year.

Competition within the industry for qualified professionals is growing tougher.

'We strongly believe that a company's operations can be paralysed if the ability and performance of their staff do not match the operational model. Therefore, we have strict requirements and higher expectations of our Hong Kong staff,' Ms Chan said.

She said the qualifications of mainland professionals had improved significantly in recent years. Her advice to engineers and managers in Hong Kong was to continue to upgrade their qualifications to stay competitive in the job market.

It's a fact

Engineers are being recruited specifically to deal with the expanding electronic manufacturing services business.

University graduates with degrees in industrial or manufacturing engineering will be hired and enrolled in a two-year on-the-job training programme.

Companies prefer to recruit Hong Kong candidates to fill managerial and engineering positions because of their broader international outlook and reputation for efficiency.

Promotions are linked to performance, and incentives for more senior staff may include  share options.



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