Hong Kong aims to attract 10,000 young, skilled technicians using ‘new channels’

Hong Kong is facing a shortage of 60,000 skilled technicians but government wants to strike a balance and give locals a chance, labour chief says

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Job seekers looks for work opportunities at an employment fair in Wan Chai. Photo: May Tse

Published: 9:23pm, 18 Oct 2024Updated: 12:23am, 19 Oct 2024

Hong Kong aims to attract 10,000 skilled technicians aged 35 or below over three years by launching new channels under existing schemes to ease a manpower crunch in certain sectors, the labour minister has said.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Friday that the city was facing a shortage of 60,000 skilled technicians in various fields with a combined 400,000-strong workforce, prompting authorities to develop new channels to attract outside workers.

“Since we are faced with such a big challenge, we must find ways to look for new blood … Our initial thought for the plan is to attract young people aged 35 or below who will contribute their youth to the technician workforce in Hong Kong,” he said.

“But, meanwhile, we hope to strike a balance by giving opportunities to locals who are interested … That’s why we set the quota to 10,000 in a three-year period.”

Sun was expanding on measures unveiled by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address on Wednesday, but did not detail the job categories or professions to be included under the new entry measures.

Labour minister Chris Sun (left), with the city’s No 2 official, Eric Chan Kwok-ki, says importing workers is a “short-term” solution. Photo: Dickson Lee

In explaining the imminent need for outside workers, Sun said the staff shortage rate in the sectors had risen to 14 per cent. He said the industries had been struggling to find new employees to fill the gap as around 160,000 local skilled workers had reached the age of 50.