HIGH staff turnover, the falling quality of job applicants and 'relentlessly rising labour costs' are taking a heavy toll on Hong Kong and threaten its competitiveness, a senior banker says.
Filling a vacancy with the right staff was becoming increasingly difficult, especially in an economy where nine out of 10 jobs were service-related, said Paul Selway-Swift, executive director of Hongkong Bank.
He was speaking at the 15th annual conference of the Hong Kong Institute of Personnel Management, which was sponsored by the South China Morning Post.
'Part of this problem is demand, of course,' he said. 'There are more companies hiring. But part is also supply. While emigration is expected to increase, quality appears to be on the decrease too - and this has to set off warning bells.
'If standards continue to drop, our competitive edge will drop too, and economic growth will slow. We must - and we should - keep pressure on government to upgrade education standards throughout the territory.' The territory's employers and human resources operations face serious challenges if they expect to maintain their performance, despite last month's news that Hong Kong is one of the most competitive economies in the world.
'That, however, was last month. This month we are already worrying about whether we can remain competitive. Having finally received recognition for our achievements, we wonder whether we can sustain them,' Mr Selway-Swift said.