A total of 207 engineers from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have obtained professional qualifications to practice on the Chinese mainland through a pilot evaluation program.
They’re among the first to benefit from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area engineering “Professional Title” evaluation -- a test program aimed at helping professionals from the SAR to qualify under the mainland system for evaluating their skills and qualifications, and providing a basis for enterprises to recruit talents.
The 207 engineers from the public sector, consultants and contractors have obtained corresponding mainland professional qualifications to be professorate senior engineers, senior engineers, engineers and assistant engineers.
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At a celebration ceremony organized by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers on Tuesday, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho called the successful completion of the program by the first batch of engineers a “great encouragement” as it’ll create more opportunities and favorable conditions for the SAR’s construction industry, and allow local professionals to better contribute to national development.
She said the SAR government will continue to collaborate closely with relevant mainland authorities and the building sector to regularize the evaluation mechanism, and extend it to other construction-related professions with the right conditions, such as surveying and architecture.
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Due to the different professional qualification systems in the SAR and on the mainland, it had not been easy for Hong Kong professionals to qualify to practice across the boundary in the past.
Last year, Guangdong province and Hong Kong jointly tried out a new evaluation method, allowing Hong Kong professionals from five engineering disciplines -- civil engineering, geotechnical, highway, electrical and measurement, control and instrumentation – to gain corresponding mainland professional titles after assessments have been made.
The move is seen as a step forward in the convergence of the rules of professional qualifications on both sides.
