More young people joining construction sector, but tough to retain talent, lawmaker says
More Hongkongers join the sector, but many quit once they have finished training
More young people are joining Hong Kong’s construction sector, with the majority of recent trainees aged under 35, but many do not take up employment in the industry after they complete their training.
During a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday, engineering sector legislator Lo Wai-kwok brought up concerns about the ageing labour force, with more than 40 per cent of construction workers aged 50 or older.
Secretary for Development Eric Ma Siu-cheung said that between 2009 and 2016, the Construction Industry Council trained more than 24,000 semi-skilled construction workers. About 60 per cent of them were below 35-years-old, well below the average age of 46.
“This shows that many young people are interested in joining the industry,” he said.
But real estate and construction lawmaker Abraham Razack said the figures do not show the “real situation” as the success rate of retaining trained young talent remained low.
“While [the council] has said [it] has trained more people, training more people and keeping people in the industry are two different things,” he said.
