Editorial | As Hong Kong looks overseas, local talent needs to be nurtured
- Figures show that the government will not have a problem attracting overseas workers to its high-end talent scheme. But with the exodus of home-grown professionals showing no sign of abating, more must be done to address the issues fuelling the drain and to keep the talent the city already has
Hong Kong has opened the door wider for more talent to come in, and rightly so. The belated move can, hopefully, help close the gap as the world steps up efforts in attracting the best.
However, hammering out a more extensive job list is just the very first step to address the shortage. The government must work harder to nurture and keep home-grown talent, while importing sufficient manpower to suit the needs of different sectors.
Artificial intelligence specialists, medical professionals and construction specialists are among the expanded “wanted” list by the government. It covers 51 occupations in nine sectors, up from 13 when it was first compiled in 2018 when the city joined the global talent hunt. Successful applicants can obtain a visa within four weeks.
Employers seeking to fill these vacancies are not required to go through the market availability tests. But the talent must satisfy the relevant registration or exam requirements before being allowed to join the workforce.
The government has given itself an annual target of 35,000 talented workers, what it calls the key performance indicator, in the next few years. Those admitted are expected to stay for 12 months at least.