******************************************************
Financial services professionals and academia have committed themselves to enhancing the quality of human resources by providing more internship programmes for local students.
The commitment came today (June 10) at a forum, carrying the theme" Enhancing Quality with Strengthened Training ", which was jointly organised by the Advisory Committee on Human Resources Development in the Financial Services Sector (FinMan Committee) and the University of Hong Kong to explore effective ways and measures to nurture financial talent. Participants of the forum included more than 200 students and faculty staff from all the tertiary institutions and another 50 representatives from professional bodies and associations of the financial market and the FinMan members.
Officiating at the opening ceremony, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma encouraged students to equip themselves for a career in the financial industry.
He suggested seven "tips" for success in the financial services sector. They were : being prepared to work long hours a day; having the 'Never give up' attitude; good language skills, not only English and Cantonese, but also Putonghua; good interpersonal and communication skills; gaining international exposure; sustaining lifelong learning and being able to think "out of the box".
"Human resources are the most invaluable asset for Hong Kong, and the financial services industry is a major pillar of our economy.
"To maintain and further strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre, we must make concerted efforts to expand and further enhance the quality of our human resources to support the future development of the financial services sector," Mr Ma said.
Mr Ma praised the FinMan Committee for holding fast to its mission of fostering a co-ordination of efforts between academia and the industry on financial services manpower development since its establishment in 2000.
Also speaking at the same occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong Prof Lap-chee Tsui said "The University of Hong Kong is happy to be a partner in this joint venture. As the regions's first and foremost University, we are committed to training the great minds of tomorrow. Since its foundation, the University of Hong Kong has been committed to working with the community for the community. Working with the community takes many forms, it is also our commitment to deeper collaboration with the industry to nurture financial talent for Hong Kong,"
Professor Lap-chee Tsui said collaborations such as summer internship and work-study would give valuable opportunities for students to learn from practical experiences beyond the classroom. "We will need further support and endorsement from the community, as well as leadership and encouragement from the Government which are also essential," Professor Tsui said.
Today's forum was the second in a series of events organised by the FinMan Committee under the title of "Industry/Academia Collaboration on nurturing Financial Talent Series" to foster mutual understanding and encourage co-operation between the industry and the academia on issues related to human resource development for the financial services sector.
Building on the success of the first two events, the FinMan Committee will jointly organise other events with local universities on a regular basis to encourage the industry and academia to join in enhancing human resources both in terms of quality and quantity to reinforce Hong Kong's strengths and success as an international financial centre.
Panellists at the forum were heavyweights of the financial services and academic sectors. They included the Executive Council and Legislative Council member, Mr Bernard Chan; the Senior Adviser to Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Cheng Kai-ming; the Head of North and East Asia and Chief Executive of BNP Paribas Hong Kong Branch, Mrs Mignonne Cheng; the Co-head of Investment Banking in Asia and Asia Financing Group of Goldman Sachs, Mr Mark Machin; the Vice-President (Undergraduate Education) and Chair Professor of Finance of City University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Business, Professor Richard Ho ; the Executive Director of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Mr Peter Wong; the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Richard Wong Yue-chim; the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd, Mr Peter Sullivan ; the Audit Partner of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Mr Philip Tsai; the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America (Asia) Ltd; and Mr Samuel Tsien.
At the end of today's session, the Chairman of the FinMan Committee, Mr Chan Tze-ching commended all the speakers for their valuable insights which had provided the audience with very good food for thought. He encouraged the students to seize the opportunities to enrich themselves and acquire more skills, with updated knowledge about the world, during their university life.
He appealed to the industry to offer more internship programmes, which were an effective learning tool, for local students. "Internship plays a pivotal role in enhancing our financial services talent. It is a bridge between the visual world and the real financial world," he said.
Earlier this year, Mr Chan wrote to all the professional bodies and trade unions in the financial services sector to appeal for their provision of more internship opportunities for the local students. Guidelines to provide employers with "tips" on organising internship programmes were also published by the FinMan Committee in May this year.
The first event in the series was held at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in February this year with enthusiastic responses.
The FinMan Committee will continue to work to further dialogue and exchanges among all the stakeholders concerned.
The FinMan Committee was established in June, 2000, by the Government to foster better co-ordination of the efforts between the industry and academia on financial services manpower development. It comprises representatives from the Government, the industry, regulators, professional bodies and training providers.
Ends/Saturday, June 10, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:15
NNNN