Hong Kong opens new office for online talent platform aimed at attracting high-skilled workers, boosting retention efforts
- Authorities aim to attract workers through global recruitment efforts and summits to be held overseas and in Greater Bay Area
- Physical office for ‘Hong Kong Talent Engage’ online platform among initiatives announced by John Lee in policy address
Anthony Lau Chun-hon, the director of Hong Kong Talent Engage, on Monday said the office would organise a large-scale global summit and a high-level conference on professional development in the bay area to further promote the city.
“The goal is to position Hong Kong as a hub for attracting high-quality talent,” said Lau, the former executive director of the Tourism Board.
The bay area refers to Beijing’s initiative to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.
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The director added the office, located in Wan Chai, would devise recruitment strategies and collaborate with various industries after analysing the 51 professions under the government’s “talent list”.
Authorities expanded the list in May from 13 job types to 51 covering nine categories, including business support, healthcare services, creative industries, development and construction, and innovation and technology.
“We will develop different promotion and recruitment strategies to launch targeted campaigns around the world, informing talent about the measures and support available in Hong Kong,” Lau said.
He added the office would hire staff to provide help for workers interested in coming to Hong Kong and also individuals under the talent schemes who were already in the city.
The support would cover various aspects such as work-related matters and children’s educational needs, he said.
Establishing a physical office for the “Hong Kong Talent Engage” online platform was one of the key initiatives announced by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address last week.
As of last month, the government had approved 100,000 applications out of 160,000 for various talent schemes in the city.
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The majority of applicants are from the financial and business sectors. Most are from the mainland, with some also from countries such as Australia and Singapore.
Officiating at the office’s opening ceremony, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said 60,000 people had been granted visas and had relocated to the city.
“The number far exceeds the key performance indicator we set, which was to attract at least 35,000 people annually,” Chan said.
Lau said the office aimed to lure not only mainland talent, but also workers from other parts of the world.
“Talent from the mainland is always welcome, but I think we need to also promote ourselves to the talent around the world to have a good mix of talent coming to Hong Kong to flourish in different professions and continue to ensure Hong Kong is a global international city,” he said.
The Top Talent Pass Scheme, which launched last December, received 50,000 applications, of which 39,000 were approved. Candidates from the mainland and those with Chinese nationality accounted for 90 per cent of the total.
The scheme is for those who have earned more than HK$2.5 million (US$319,603) over the past 12 months and graduates from 176 listed universities, including nine from the mainland, who have been working for three of the past five years.
People who have graduated in the past five years but who have not yet worked for the required amount of time are also eligible to apply.
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Eight more universities were added to the list in the policy address, including five of the world’s leading hospitality schools in Switzerland and the Netherlands, as well as three top institutions on the mainland.
Labour minister Chris Sun Yuk-han on Monday acknowledged that most applicants might be mainlanders, but said about 20 per cent of the candidates were either studying abroad or from overseas.
“If you look at the absolute numbers, those numbers from outside the mainland, from overseas, are still quite significant. It is a success for us,” Sun said.
The government earlier also relaxed visa policies for three Asian nations by easing requirements for short-term visitors from Vietnam and expanding talent schemes to include skilled workers from the country as well as from Laos and Nepal.
