The number of young people enrolling in the Qualification Programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants has increased five-fold since 2003, according to Jonathan Ng Tai-sing, the institute's director, student education and training.
'The programme was launched in 1999 and our numbers go back five years.
'In 2003, we had around 3,000, but last year 15,000 people studied in the programme.'
Mr Ng said part of the reason for the huge increase in numbers was the institute's success at positioning the brand, which had gained recognition with bodies around the world.
Most of the students are about 22 years old and are straight out of university. Many of them will be working for one of the Big Four accounting firms.
Many of them will change jobs after they complete the programme, taking the opportunity to specialise in one area.
