For Immediate Release
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Chamber (HKGCC) welcomes the start of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) on 4 September to alleviate manpower shortages in Hong Kong. The business sector has been facing acute labour shortages in recent years, resulting in growth constraints among a wide range of companies and weakening the city’s post-Covid rebound.
In the Chamber’s latest Talent Shortage Survey released in June this year, 74% of respondents reported that they had been wrestling with a shortage of talent, 61% of whom said they had been facing talent shortages for 1 to 3 years. A total of 52% of respondents said they had not applied for previous government schemes, as the job categories covered were not relevant to their companies.
So the decision to suspend the general exclusion of 26 job categories as well as unskilled/low-skilled posts from the ESLS for two years should help to ease businesses’ manpower challenges in labour-intensive sectors.
However, local workers must still be given the priority to fill job vacancies, and where possible, be given training to broaden their skills and bridge any skills-gap. As part of this, companies will still be required to go through a four-week local recruitment exercise with potential candidates for employers to interview from the Labour Department.
While the expanded labour importation list is a welcomed, short-term measure, the Chamber hopes that more strategic planning for the coming 5 to 10 years can be adopted to address the future manpower needs of Hong Kong’s rapidly changing population and economy.
This should include identifying sectors severely impacted by talent shortages and also ensuring planned mega projects, such as the Northern Metropolis, have the necessary workers to allow them to thrive.
Media inquiries: Please contact Ms Mabel Chan at 2823-1278 / mabel@chamber.org.hk