Four in five Hongkongers view vocational education and training as inferior to university, poll finds
Think tank says high proportion of university graduates does not match labour market needs
Many Hongkongers consider vocational education and training an inferior course of study as four out of five respondents do not recognise it as a professional qualification for students, a policy think tank has found.
The study commissioned by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre cited the finding as indicative of a serious manpower mismatch problem in the city. It polled 2,493 parents and students from June to December last year.
“Many in society believe that going to a university is the only way out, but this way of thinking is not right,” think tank vice-chairman Lau Ming-wai said. “Often times it’s the parents that become a stumbling block. That generation of Hongkongers was brought up in a society where a university degree guaranteed a prosperous future.”
Some 20 per cent of polled students also thought vocational education was a backup plan for those who did not do well on university entrance exams.
Lau said the high proportion of university graduates did not match the needs of the labour market, with a shortage seen in certain industries that often do not require university degrees, such as the construction industry.
Many in society believe that going to a university is the only way out
“Not all jobs in Hong Kong require a bachelor's degree, but a lot say they need it,” he added. “Employers are flooded with university degree graduate applications. Therefore, by default, employers come to expect that, but whether employers need those skills or knowledge that a university gave them is a separate question.”