Policy Address | Eric Chan: committee to align Hong Kong's development with national strategy — importing technicians to prevent industry shrinkage
Chief Secretary Eric Chan appeared on Commercial Radio's "Political and Economic Saturday" programme. The new Policy Address proposes establishing a "Committee on Education, Technology and Talents". Chan, who chairs the committee, said on the 19th that education, technology and talent are deeply interconnected; each area's specific work is led by its own bureau chief, and the committee's task is to coordinate the three bureaux — preventing fragmented development that fails to align with national development priorities.
The Policy Address also proposes two-year talent visas for 10,000 technicians to close Hong Kong's technician gap. Chan said the first thing companies consider when setting up in Hong Kong is whether staffing is sufficient; a talent shortfall makes it hard to attract outside firms and industries will shrink accordingly. Opening up talent importation "grows the pie" for every industry and is expected to create more jobs. He reiterated that local technician training will be strengthened, including the Employees Retraining Board focusing further on technical-training courses.
On community living rooms, Chan noted three more are nearing completion in addition to the four now operating, to help subdivided-flat households. He also mentioned the enhanced "Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong", which will subsidise CSSA households to enter Guangdong residential care homes; seven more facilities are expected to join the eligible list, bringing the total to 11. The scheme provides a HK$5,000 supplement on top of CSSA, which he stressed should be sufficient for living on the mainland.
Original article: https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20241019/s00001/1729325464986