Hong Kong’s labor chief on Friday said the city wants to attract 10,000 skilled professionals aged below 35 in the next three years who would be willing to “dedicate their youth” to replenish its aging workforce.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun yuk-han said the city currently has about 400,000 skilled workers, but 40 percent of them are over 55 years old.

Official figures indicate that the shortage of skilled workers will reach 60,000 by 2028.

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In his third Policy Address unveiled on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu undertook to provide new channels to lure experienced specialists in specific skilled trades facing acute manpower shortages to Hong Kong, under the existing talent admission schemes — General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals.

“We have made it crystal clear that we want young skilled workers aged under 35... we hope they could dedicate their youth to Hong Kong,” Sun said.  

Sun confirmed that priority will be given for local workers.

The visa validity under the new channels for experienced specialists is yet to be decided, Sun revealed. The visa given for skilled workers in the past is usually two years, he said.

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Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said that as of the end of September this year, various talent admission projects have received over 380,000 applications, of which approximately 240,000 have been approved.

About 160,000 talents, along with their families, have arrived in Hong Kong, exceeding the initial target set by the current government to attract over 100,000 talents between 2023 and 2025, Chan added.

Chan also mentioned that the PA proposed setting up a Committee on Education, Technology and Talents, which will be led by him, to coordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents, formulate policies to attract and cultivate talents, and also promote Hong Kong as an international hub for high-caliber talents.

Sun said that the government will expand the list of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme to 198 universities by adding nine from the Chinese mainland universities and four from overseas, and extending the validity period of the first visa of high-income (Category A) talents under the scheme from two years to three.

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He explained that Category A talents, with an annual income of over HK$2.5 million ($0.3 million), have a higher chance of starting a business as about one-fourth of them already did so after arriving in the city, which can create economic value for the city and introduce new job types.

As 90 percent of Category A talents are married and have children, attracting them to Hong Kong is beneficial for the local population structure, and the relevant expansion plan will be implemented in November, Sun noted.

Contact the writer at fangxue@chinadailyhk.com