On the release of the latest Manpower Forecast for Hong Kong Construction Industry by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) today (February 8), a spokesman for the Development Bureau (DEVB) said that the Government would formulate a strategy and adopt a multi-pronged approach to address the future manpower demands and support the continuous development of Hong Kong.
      
     The spokesman stressed that the Government should focus on economic development and improving people's livelihoods. To this end, the Government should continue to invest heavily in infrastructural, land and housing projects to drive development, for which human resources are essential.
      
     The spokesman added that the forecast results released by the CIC have not taken into account the expected effect of the various measures including increasing manpower supply and the application of advanced construction techniques and new technologies. The DEVB will make reference to the forecast data and assess how to enhance manpower supply through a multi-pronged strategy including leveraging local manpower resources, enhancing training and bringing in non-local resources as necessary, as well as to reduce manpower needs through productivity uplifting measures. The DEVB's target is to present the assessment and a holistic strategy for addressing manpower needs of the construction sector by mid-2023.
      
     To attract new entrants to the industry, the DEVB is working with the industry to implement the Hong Kong Construction Industry Joint Promotion Campaign to promote the professional image and development opportunities of the industry as well as its contribution to the building of the community. The Government also allocated $1 billion to the CIC last year for training more talents, upgrading the skills of the workers, and providing more on-the-job training opportunities.
      
     In addition, the Government has injected a total of $2.2 billion into the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund. The DEVB has also set up a cross-departmental steering committee to co-ordinate the development of high productivity construction methods such as Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) to continue to promote the use of innovative technologies and raise productivity in the industry.

Ends/Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:10

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