More young workers worried about wage cuts, falling behind on skills

Marcus Lum

Nearly 60 percent of youngsters are not optimistic about Hong Kong's economic prospects, according to a think tank's survey.

Youth IDEAS, founded by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups' Youth Research Centre, interviewed 600 young workers aged 18 to 34 from September 28 to October 4, who gave the economic prospects an average score of 5.95 out of 10.

The survey found that 59.5 percent of those interviewed expressed concerns about "salary reduction" and "professional knowledge or skills falling behind."

Over 80 percent agreed that strategies such as "promoting a mega event economy," "developing digital economy and promoting new quality productive forces," and "strengthening the development of eight major centers" would help promote Hong Kong's development.

The survey also found that over 85 percent agreed with "nurturing local talent is a key factor in promoting Hong Kong's economic development" and "learning new technologies is a crucial skill for future employment."

Tony Lau Hon-yiu, convener of the think tank's employment and economy group, said Hong Kong's economic transformation requires multiparty cooperation and well-positioned human resource policies.

He suggested that the city promote collaboration between applied science universities and enterprises to offer technical training courses that meet industry demands.

"Applied science universities should collaborate with enterprises to establish technical training courses focusing on industry needs, such as big data analysis and artificial intelligence, to increase the supply of local technical talent."

Lau said companies should be encouraged to introduce paid study leave and tax incentives to strengthen local talent development.

He added that mainland technology enterprises should utilize their advanced technologies to enhance training quality and market competitiveness.

Local youths can have the opportunity to enhance their value in these emerging industries and find suitable roles and opportunities during the transition period as the administration has been developing the digital economy and innovation technology industries, he said.

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com