The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the fifth meeting of the Human Resources Planning Commission this afternoon (February 26).  

     At the meeting, the Commission discussed the revised proposal for setting up a new integrated portal on manpower information presented by the Secretariat of the Commission. Following up on Members’ deliberations and comments at the last meeting, the Secretariat engaged a number of experienced information technology industry practitioners and refined the proposal in light of their advice.

     Mr Cheung pointed out that there is currently a lack of career-related information channels for the working population in the market. Through interactive information and appropriate guidance on upskilling, career advancement and career development plans, the integrated portal on manpower information will help the working population to stay competitive, thereby enabling them to cope with the rapid changes brought about by technological advancement to the work environment. 

     The portal will be underpinned by an integrated database on jobs, skills and training information and supplemented by regularly updated theme-based content on trending topics about careers and the job market to attract patronage. The design of the portal will also cater for prevailing web-browsing habits and people’s preferences, with a view to enhancing overall user experience. Based on Members' views, the Secretariat will continue to follow up on the development of the portal, which is expected to be launched by the end of this year. 

     Members also noted the key findings of the Report on Digital Economy and Talent Development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The report was jointly published by the Center for Internet Development and Governance of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and LinkedIn, and analyses the distribution and movement of high level and digital talents of different sectors in GBA cities based on LinkedIn's membership database. 

     The key findings illustrate that Hong Kong has advantages in terms of talents in finance, education and corporate services sectors, which could well complement the strengths of other cities in the GBA. In terms of talent mobility, the report acknowledges Hong Kong's attractiveness to overseas and Mainland talents. Members noted the key findings and said they believed that the GBA would bring about enormous development opportunities for talents in Hong Kong. They also shared views on how to better leverage Hong Kong's comparative strengths to contribute to the development of the GBA. 

     Mr Cheung added that the Central Government promulgated the GBA Outline Development Plan last week (February 18). The focuses of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's future work would include developing an international innovation and technology hub, expanding the scope of development for sectors in which Hong Kong's strengths lie, strengthening infrastructural connectivity, and fostering youth innovation and entrepreneurship. The Government would also launch a series of publicity efforts to help enterprises and members of the public, particularly young people, understand and take advantage of development opportunities brought about by the development of the GBA.

Ends/Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Issued at HKT 18:25

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