Peter Wong

Opinion | Hong Kong’s young talent is a strength that must be strategically nurtured

Even as the city looks overseas, there is enormous value in investing in local people as they provide a solid and reliable talent pool and see Hong Kong as their home

Universities, the government and businesses must deepen their commitment to creating a sustainable ecosystem for developing talent and encouraging entrepreneurship

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Commuters walk across an intersection in Central on April 6. With an ageing population and a low birth rate, Hong Kong is looking to attract talent from different sources. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Peter Wong

Published: 4:30pm, 15 Jun 2023

It has been wonderful to see the return of Hong Kong’s vibrancy over the past few months. The government has done well to attract investors, businesses and tourists from across the world by launching a range of campaigns around the theme of “Hong Kong is back”. These efforts help retain our city’s status as an international hub for business and a destination for visitors.

At this crucial moment, when there is a pressing need to strengthen our rebound by promoting Hong Kong’s unique advantages globally, we should also remember another of our important assets – the strength of our local talent.

With an ageing population and a low birth rate, it is important for our city to attract talent from different sources. Concurrently, there is enormous value in developing our local people, as they provide a solid and reliable talent pool and see Hong Kong as their home.

Our local universities provide strong evidence of this talent, with five ranked among the world’s top 100 by Times Higher Education. In 2021, there were 28,861 graduates from programmes funded by the University Grants Committee, representing eight of the top universities in Hong Kong. This clearly shows we are producing a significant pool of new local talent each year.

Nurturing local talent and creating the conditions for them to grow and contribute is essential to sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth. Our city is fast becoming a technology and innovation hub for the region, which is critical to business resilience and the economic recovery from the pandemic. While we remain committed to investing in our local talent, there is an urgent need to do even more during this period of opening up to support these ambitions and help our workforce thrive.

Our talent needs to be ready to support Hong Kong’s future as we strengthen our role as a super-connector between mainland China and the rest of the world, and capitalise on the development of the Greater Bay Area.