The talent attraction plan behind Hong Kong’s population growth
Recruit talents from all over the world and create a talent treasure house for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
As the global competition for talent becomes increasingly fierce, “snatching talent” has become an important policy of the Hong Kong SAR government.
Since the end of 2022, the Hong Kong SAR government has established a talent services office, canceled the annual quota limit of the "Excellent Talents Entry Scheme" (Excellent Talents Scheme), and increased the number of in-demand talent majors in the "Talent List" from 13 to 51, optimizing A series of measures including the "Technology Talent Entry Plan", but the most popular one is the launch of the "High-end Talent Pass Plan" (referred to as the "High-end Talent Pass Plan") with simple and clear thresholds.
Once the "High Talent Plan" was launched, it became the most approved method among various talent plans.
Since its implementation on December 28, 2022, the Hong Kong SAR government has received approximately 70,000 applications, of which 55,000 have been approved.
A few days ago, data released by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government showed that as of the end of last year, the provisional population of Hong Kong was 7.5031 million, an increase of more than 30,000 year-on-year, an increase of 0.4%.
This is the second consecutive year that Hong Kong’s population has recorded growth after the return to normalcy.
Among them, more than 10,000 people came to Hong Kong through various talent schemes, becoming a new force in Hong Kong's labor market and high-end talent pool.
"The 'High Talent Talent Plan' attracts talents to Hong Kong and can also strengthen talent exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland. It is like creating a treasure house of talents for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area." In the Hong Kong Legislative Council, the High Talent Talent Service Association According to Shang Hailong, the founding president of the association, this orderly flow of talents can continuously activate the creativity of talents and also promote the construction of a talent highland in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Chan Kwok-kee, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR Government, believes that Hong Kong has the conditions and advantages to play the role of an international talent hub and a talent portal for the Greater Bay Area, and is gathering international talents needed for the development of the Greater Bay Area through a series of talent plans.
In the future, Hong Kong will make full use of the Guangdong-Hong Kong talent cooperation and coordination mechanism to deepen talent exchanges and cooperation with relevant units of the Guangdong Provincial Government, adding new impetus to the construction of a high-level talent highland in the Greater Bay Area.
●Nanfang Daily reporter Chen Yu
Development prospects and children’s education
Become Hong Kong’s “talent attraction driver”
In recent years, as the aging of the population intensifies and social development demands talents, the drawbacks of the Hong Kong SAR government’s talent policies, such as excessive restrictions, insufficient quotas, and cumbersome procedures, have become increasingly apparent, and the government has had to make major adjustments to its talent policies.
In 2022, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu, proposed in his first policy address during his term of office to introduce more innovative and proactive measures to "grab talent" and join the "global war for talent."
Subsequently, the SAR government even launched the "High Talent Access Plan" for the first time in history and optimized a number of talent import programs to attract global talents to Hong Kong.
The "Highly Talented Program" is mainly for people with high education or high income. Approved candidates can get a two-year Hong Kong visa.
There are three application conditions for the program, and you only need to meet one of them: the annual salary in the past year reached HK$2.5 million (Category A); a bachelor's degree from a top 100 university in the world, and 3 or more years of work experience in the past 5 years (Category B) ; Does not meet the work experience requirements, but has graduated from a top 100 university in the world (Category C) with a bachelor's degree in the past 5 years.
According to estimates by Sun Yuk-han, Secretary for Labor and Welfare of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the "Highly Talented Program" can bring an annual direct economic contribution of approximately HK$34 billion to Hong Kong, equivalent to approximately 1.2% of the gross domestic product.
"I learned about this policy on January 5 last year. At that time, no one knew how to apply, so I prepared the materials for two days." Zhou Ronghua graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and meets the Category C requirements of the "High Talent Program".
Since he had no friends around him to try it, Zhou Ronghua was fully prepared and even dug out his transcript from college.
Less than 24 hours after submitting the application, Zhou Ronghua received an email notification saying "approved".
For Zhou Ronghua, Hong Kong is a new blue ocean for career.
Having been engaged in the game industry for more than ten years, he started working on overseas games in 2009 and often has business dealings with foreign companies.
In 2022, he came to Shenzhen from Beijing for development and founded a game development and distribution company with his friends.
"Hong Kong has a highly open and international market environment, and many game companies will choose to settle in Hong Kong." After Zhou Ronghua came to Hong Kong, he quickly registered a new company as a bridgehead for developing overseas business.
Zhou Ronghua said that Shenzhen has relatively low labor costs and good technology, making it suitable for game research and development; Guangzhou’s game distribution is second to none in the country; Hong Kong has the advantages of “one country, two systems”, relatively flexible policies, and easy access to overseas markets. “This is the Greater Bay Area The synergistic advantages, each city uses its own advantages to play a role, and the entrepreneurial environment is unique."
Compared with the previous complicated talent and talent schemes, the threshold conditions of the "Highly Talented Scheme" are simple and clear, and it also opens the door to more high-quality talents in Hong Kong.
Even Marbury, a former player of the National Basketball League, submitted an application for the "High Talent Access Program" to the Hong Kong Talent Services Office.
But not all talents come here just for career development. Hong Kong’s education level is another key point that attracts them.
Chen Haowen from Shanghai is an expert in sustainable development and ESG industry.
In addition to hoping to explore the current hot ESG field through Hong Kong, an international city, her other goal is to hope that her daughter, who has just entered junior high school, can avoid the competition in the mainland's college entrance examination.
"Not only are Hong Kong's educational resources good, but compared to the mainland's college entrance examination, the pressure to enter higher education is not that great," Chen Haowen said.
The "Highly Talented Program" allows approved applicants to come to Hong Kong together with their dependents, including unmarried children and spouses under the age of 18.
The Hong Kong Education Bureau also issued a notice indicating that the children or dependents of applicants approved for multiple talent entry programs, including the "Highly Talented Program", can enroll in public schools and direct subsidy schools, with the same treatment as local students.
"The issue of children's education is the driving factor for many people to apply for the 'Highly Talented Program'." Zhou Ronghua said that in fact, as the aging of Hong Kong society accelerates, many school places are also vacant.
Approved applicants for the "Highly Talented Program" can bring their spouses and children to Hong Kong, which can also replenish Hong Kong's youth population to a certain extent.
Shang Hailong believes that the "High Talent Access Plan" can make a three-dimensional supplement to Hong Kong's population structure from the three levels of population, manpower and talent: First, more than 60% of the newly arrived talents in Hong Kong are families, which can bring more than 30,000 people. Dependents under the age of 18 are a very valuable population resource in Hong Kong; secondly, from a manpower perspective, this group of people can supplement Hong Kong’s core white-collar workforce which is in short supply; finally, most applicants for the “Highly Talented Program” are highly educated , including many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, is a talent resource that can support Hong Kong in achieving high-quality development.
The Hong Kong Labor and Welfare Bureau revealed that as of the end of December last year, more than 51,000 dependents had been approved to come to Hong Kong under the "Highly Talented Program".
The bureau analyzed that talents and their spouses under the "High Talent Access Program" are generally relatively young. In addition, they bring their young children to settle in Hong Kong, which can add new forces to the local labor force and have a positive impact on Hong Kong's demographic structure.
Relying on talents from Hong Kong to start a business
Expand industries to boost employment
Liu Lan, who just resigned from a leading mainland Internet company last year, chose to look for more "possibilities" in life in Hong Kong.
"At the beginning of this year, my husband first applied for the 'High Talent Program' and I came with him as his spouse. But later I found out that I was eligible, so I also applied for one during the Spring Festival." As a student at Sun Yat-sen University A graduate, Liu Lan has worked in many Fortune 500 companies.
Liu Lan laughed and said that she was facing a "midlife crisis" in the workplace and it was really difficult to find a position that matched her resume. It happened that a friend invited her to start a business in Hong Kong.
Liu Lan, who is currently waiting for the approval of her application for the "Highly Talented Program" (recently, with the increase in the number of applications, the Hong Kong Immigration Department's approval efficiency has also slowed down), she often goes to Hong Kong to understand the market.
"Hong Kong is planning to build an international innovation and technology center, focusing on artificial intelligence and new energy technology, which are areas that I am more interested in." Liu Lan told reporters that she often visited art exhibitions in Hong Kong in the past, and it was her choice to engage in art-related industries. Another option.
In the past month, Liu Lan learned about several important innovation and technology platforms in Hong Kong. However, as her understanding increased, her originally promising plan was defeated by reality.
"Although it is very simple to register a company in Hong Kong, if you want to rent a small office, it will cost about HK$100,000 a month." Liu Lan said that the SAR government has also launched many plans for the innovation and technology industry, but she still needs time to understand and digestion.
Liu Lan is now a little worried. If he just relies on starting a company, he may not be able to catch up with the requirement of "starting and participating in any business" in Hong Kong when the "High Talent Program" is renewed two years later. Should he first find a job to settle down and become Liu Lan? A question that Lan had to think about.
According to a survey by the Hong Kong Labor and Welfare Bureau, 54% of the interviewed applicants for the "Highly Talented Program" are already employed, mainly in financial services (31%), innovation and information technology (18%), and business (17%). industry, and engage in management and professional work.
The remaining applicants are planning to find a job or start a business.
On March 3, the "Hong Kong Talent Recruitment Expo 2024" co-sponsored by the Talent Service Association and other organizations was held in Hong Kong. A total of 294 companies provided about 3,000 positions and attracted more than 2,500 participants.
Liu Lan walked around the site and found that there were many jobs in the financial industry, while there were fewer jobs related to innovation and technology.
"More than half of the people who participated in the recruitment are people who have been approved by the 'Gao Caitong Plan' (referred to as "gao cai"). In fact, it also proves that many talents are still in the stage of looking for jobs, or are not satisfied with their current jobs. .Facing the influx of highly talented people into Hong Kong, how to match talents and positions is indeed a question that the SAR government needs to think about." Shang Hailong said.
"Friends around us say that it is not difficult to find a job in Hong Kong that meets the program renewal conditions. But it takes more time and energy to find a job that suits your career development or can support the same living standard as in the mainland." Zhou Ronghua said that due to the current economic structure of Hong Kong, many industries in the mainland are not available in Hong Kong.
He has a junior sister who is a designer of new energy vehicles in the Mainland. However, there are no car manufacturing companies in Hong Kong, so she can only find an advertising design job for the time being.
Shang Hailong believes that Hong Kong's current industry field is still relatively narrow, and the number of jobs it can provide is not as many as imagined, nor is it as rich.
In addition to relying on its original advantages to attract talents, Hong Kong also needs to consider how to retain talents.
"If we only rely on the original employment demand, it will be difficult to digest so many talented people." Shang Hailong believes that it is necessary to rely on the entrepreneurship of the talents coming to Hong Kong to expand Hong Kong's industries and drive new jobs, so as not to let the talents and positions disappear. Matching is stuck.
Sun Yuhan also admitted at the job fair on the 3rd that providing the best job matching is what the SAR government needs to do most for high-level talents in the coming days.
The Hong Kong Talent Services Office has contacted more than 10 personnel consulting companies as partners. The relevant companies will provide personalized career matching and job search support based on the background and needs of job seekers.
Hong Kong is not for everyone
The high cost of living is a practical consideration
On February 29, the Hong Kong Productivity Council held a seminar on "Technology Intelligent Decoding ESG: Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises", one of the "Hong Kong Green Week" series of activities.
Chen Haowen, who focuses on the ESG field, was also one of the participants.
After New Year's Day this year, Chen Haowen frequently traveled between Shanghai and Hong Kong.
"I have been doing business in Hong Kong 20 years ago and am very familiar with Hong Kong culture. For me, moving to Hong Kong is just a change of city." However, Chen Haowen's husband is not very enthusiastic about moving to Hong Kong.
In the past year, as the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic has achieved a stable transition, the mainland's economy has continued to rebound and improve. Choosing to stay in the mainland for development or to break into a new world in Hong Kong has become a difficult decision for many talented people.
Chen Haowen told reporters that her husband is a Shanghainese with a relatively stable mentality, and his industry is relatively less affected by economic cycles, so Hong Kong is not that attractive to him.
"If you want to take root in Hong Kong, a monthly salary of HK$50,000 is a must. But in fact, the salary in Hong Kong is not as high as we expected. The monthly salary of many positions is only HK$20,000 or 30,000." Chen Haowen's husband believes that the current mainland economy It still has strong resilience, huge potential, and huge room for career development.
Chen Haowen and his wife are both only children and have four elderly people aged over 70 who need to support.
When she came to Hong Kong this time, Chen Haowen applied for a transfer for her daughter and was ready to "test the waters."
My daughter has not fully accepted studying in Hong Kong yet.
"If she ultimately chooses to stay in Shanghai to live and study, we will respect her idea," she said.
"It needs to be specially reminded that Hong Kong is not suitable for everyone." In Shang Hailong's view, coming to Hong Kong means leaving behind the living environment of the original place of residence, including personal connections and social circles. It completely disrupts life and even causes families to live apart in two places.
In addition, some people are not familiar with Hong Kong's environment, and issues such as children's education and cost of living will gradually emerge.
"Solving family problems well is also the core issue for stabilizing talented people to find jobs and start businesses in Hong Kong." Shang Hailong said.
Zhou Ronghua's college senior brother, Brother Jie, calls himself an "old Hong Kong drifter".
He has been engaged in the ship maintenance industry for many years. In 2000, he was assigned to work in Hong Kong for 7 years, but due to company regulations, he was not able to become a "permanent resident" in Hong Kong.
After returning to Guangzhou, Brother Jie left his original company and started a business with his friends.
Last year, I saw many alumni applying for the "High Talent Program". In order to consider the educational issues of the two children in the family who are in the first grade of primary school, Jie Ge also applied for the "High Talent Program" in November last year, starting the second life of his life. A "Hong Kong Drifting" trip.
"For many people who are not familiar with Hong Kong, language is the first challenge when they come here. Although I am not a Cantonese, I have learned Cantonese in the past seven years." Jie Ge said.
In order to make it easier for his children to transfer to school as early as possible, Jack rented a small two-bedroom apartment with an indoor area of only more than 30 square meters in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island as a temporary residence.
Compared with the more than 100 square meters of home in Guangzhou, the residence in Hong Kong is inevitably cramped.
In addition, being close to the roadside, Brother Jie is often awakened by the sound of "ding ding cars" in the morning.
When my child first transferred to a Hong Kong school, he always cried to Brother Jie that he couldn't understand the teacher's Cantonese teaching.
But what makes him gratified is that recently, his children have gradually come to like Hong Kong's schools.
There are many opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Provide more development channels for talents
It has been a year since Zhou Ronghua received the approval email for the "Gao Caitong Plan".
The cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have convenient transportation and mature economic and trade exchanges. Now, the "one-hour living circle" of the Greater Bay Area is reflected in his reality - every morning, he sets off from his home in Shenzhen and takes the high-speed rail to Hong Kong. , transfer to the subway to the office location on Hong Kong Island.
In the evening, he took the high-speed train back to Shenzhen from West Kowloon and was able to have dinner with his family in time.
For Zhou Ronghua, who has lived in first-tier cities in mainland China, the 40-minute commute from Shenzhen to Hong Kong is not a long time.
In addition to the original company in Shenzhen, Zhou Ronghua also registered a new company in Hong Kong. He recently signed a contract for a mobile game product and is preparing to officially recruit people in Hong Kong to carry out related operations.
"I was making mobile games in 2011, but I didn't seize the opportunity at that time and didn't achieve financial freedom like some of my friends around me." When it comes to future development, Zhou Ronghua still hopes to take advantage of Hong Kong's advantages as an international city to develop an explosive game on his own. game.
"During this period, it would be even better if China's traditional culture could be spread around the world through game carriers and with the help of Hong Kong's advantages." Zhou Ronghua said with a smile.
"I registered a company in Hong Kong in November last year and opened a public account before the Spring Festival. I have recently received the first payment from Hong Kong business, which is more than 100,000 Hong Kong dollars. I have income in Hong Kong." Jie, who came to Hong Kong Brother is still back to his old job of ship maintenance. In Hong Kong, an international shipping center, he is not worried about running out of business.
His wife came to Hong Kong last month, allowing Brother Jie to focus on the development of his company in Hong Kong.
After the application for the "High Talent Program" was approved last year, Chen Haowen's first stop was Shenzhen to establish a social network. Now they have established several similar communities in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.
"Hong Kong is part of the Greater Bay Area, and the entire Greater Bay Area is full of opportunities. It is very important to open up resources in mainland cities." Chen Haowen said, whether it is the original network community in Shanghai or her newly established Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc. The local connections and communities are important resources for her to start a business in Hong Kong.
On February 23, the Hong Kong Gao Caitong Talent Service Association held an exchange event between "Gao Caitong" entrepreneurs and the "Professor Group" of Hong Kong universities.
Shang Hailong clearly feels that the entrepreneurial spirit of a large number of entrepreneurs is very valuable, and that combined with Hong Kong's scientific research capabilities, they can produce great "chemical changes."
"The arrival of highly talented people in Hong Kong, whether it is to start a business, develop employment, or bring innovative technologies to Hong Kong for transformation, will definitely be helpful to the high-quality development of Hong Kong in the future." Shang Hailong said.
At the beginning of this year, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong signed the "Framework Agreement on Promoting Talent Cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong", which will promote the flow of diverse talents in the Greater Bay Area and open a new chapter for the Greater Bay Area to attract high-end talents.
I believe that in the future, more talents will write entrepreneurial stories in the surging tide of the Greater Bay Area, and they will also gain wealth and growth in the process of regional development, achieving a two-way journey.