Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor yesterday called on the professional sectors to do more to recognise overseas qualifications, to allow more workers to come to the city.
Speaking at a forum on population policy, she said the next government would have to address the looming population problem as early as 2018, and that it was important to attract professionals from overseas to address the chronic labour force shortage in some sectors.
These sectors could do more by allowing more mutual recognition of professional qualifications and adjusting standards so that more people could come to the city to work, Lam said.
She added that problems stemming from an ageing population would be compounded by a shrinking workforce.
"One in three residents will be aged over 65 by 2041," she said. "The labour force will increase from 3.52 million to 3.71 million in 2018, when it reaches its peak, and will decline thereafter."
The projected labour force in 2012 and 2041 are at similar levels at 3.52 million. But because of population growth, the labour force in 2041 will serve an extra 1.1 million people, a large part of which is made up of elderly people, putting a strain on public health and care services.