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2014/03/06
Adjusting Our Population Policy to Meet Hong Kong’s Future Needs

For Immediate Release

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce stressed in its recent submission to the Steering Committee on Population Policy that the Government needs to address both the long- and short-term labour requirements of Hong Kong to ensure healthy socio-economic growth.

In the submission to the Chief Secretary for Administration on February 21, the Chamber presented its ideas on leadership, manpower quality and extending working lives, female labour participation and fertility, and new sources of talent -- all of which are crucial aspects of our population policy. 

 “We must overcome the issues of our aging workforce to avoid the contraction of Hong Kong’s economy. The Chamber proposes to increase female participation in the work force, to import labour and to better prepare our youth for employment,” said Chamber Chairman C K Chow.

Strong leadership will be needed to manage our population challenges, which is why the Chamber is advocating that a cross-departmental agency be set up within the Administration to champion Hong Kong’s future human capital needs.  In addition to nurturing and developing talent, the agency should anticipate market needs and translate those into policies. 

The Chamber welcomes initiatives presented in the recent Policy Address and Budget Speech to help prepare more youngsters to enter the economy and realize their potential. To this end, we suggest introducing an apprenticeship scheme with the Government and employers sharing the cost of enhancing the skills of school-leavers.   We also urge closer coordination between employers’ needs and the programmes provided by education and vocational training institutions.

With regard to our ageing population, we suggest that retirement policies in both the public and private sectors be re-calibrated to 65 to align with MPF rules, in addition to encouraging more women to enter, re-enter or remain in the job market.  Employers can offer flexible working arrangements through such means as part-time work, job sharing, working from home, seasonal employment (for the busiest periods of the year) and flexible retirement to improve working conditions of older and female workers.

Population policies are by nature multi-tiered, with near-, medium- and long-term prescriptions.  For the long-term, we urge the Government to provide appropriate education, and for the medium-term, encourage the economically inactive to join the labour force. For our immediate future, however, tens of thousands of job vacancies need to be filled with temporary, project- or time-specific imported labour.

To facilitate labour importation, we suggest setting up networks and databases designed to connect expatriates with projects, jobs, and other opportunities in Hong Kong.  A carefully considered and crafted Immigration Policy that lends itself to the sustainable development of socio-economic conditions in Hong Kong is also needed.  In the meantime, efforts should be directed towards optimizing the Immigration Arrangements for non-local graduates, as well as the quota for international students.

We also recommend boosting Hong Kong’s appeal to encourage more overseas professionals to work here. The chronic shortage of international school places, as well as the ongoing problem of air pollution are determining factors in foreign professionals’ decision to move here with their family. Consequently, the Government must take concrete steps to address these issues.

 “We are facing a capacity issue.  Moreover, starting from 2018, our labour force will start to decline. This will further exacerbate the labour shortage and hinder our economic growth, which will result in less revenue for the Government.  Our ageing population will also put pressure on Government expenditure.  Unless we focus on solving the manpower shortage as soon as possible, Hong Kong’s competitiveness will undoubtedly suffer,” stressed Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen.

You can read our full submission here.

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Media inquiries: Please contact Jane Mok at 2823 1277  / [email protected]

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