After the long Christmas holiday, the Government launched the "Talent Service Unit" online platform (www.hkengage.gov.hk) on 28 Dec 2022. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-Ki, who leads the Talent Services Unit, said the Government is fully confident that the talent acquisition target of admitting a total of at least 35,000 talents, with an expected stay of at least 12 months through various talent admission schemes each year between 2023 and 2025 will be achieved within 3 years.
According to the government, the "Talent Service Unit" has been proactive in recruiting talents from all over the world, making it easier for them to obtain information and submit applications under various talent admission schemes. A series of talent entry schemes mentioned in this year's Policy Address, including the new "Top Talent Pass Scheme", are also open for application from today.
Mr. Chan Kwok-Ki, said that it is now a golden opportunity for Hong Kong to take the initiative and compete for talents. The Government is fully committed to implementing a series of new measures such as the "Talent Service Unit" to complement and enrich talent development in HK to meet the needs of the city's future economic and social development. However, as reported in the Policy Address 2023, Hong Kong has lost 140,000 talents in the past 2 years. The results of these talent acquisition campaigns are yet to be measured.
The "Talent Service Unit" online platform provides a one-stop service for foreign talents. Users can access the platform to browse a wide range of practical information, including Hong Kong's advantages and development opportunities, details of various talent admission schemes, as well as information on "clothing, food, accommodation and transportation" in Hong Kong.
Applicants can make use of the Talent Entry Scheme Category Widget on the online platform to learn about their eligible entry schemes, and then submit their applications online through the platform by connecting to the Immigration Department's electronic visa platform.
The proposed physical office will be available for application to the Legislative Council early next year.
In addition, the "Talent Service Unit" online platform will receive inquiries from talent around the world and provide contact information for the government's "Talent Acquisition Task Force" located in the Mainland and overseas offices. The respective Talent Acquisition Task Forces will make good use of the contact networks of their respective offices to proactively recruit talents to Hong Kong and promote various talent admission schemes.
Apart from launching the online platform today, the Government is also working on setting up a physical office for the "Talent Service Unit", which will be dedicated to formulating talent recruitment strategies and publicity, as well as providing more support services for inbound talents. The Government will seek the necessary resources from the Legislative Council Finance Committee early next year.
Currently, the Government is working mostly to attract overseas talents and to retain local talents. Retainment measures have been actively taken in recent years, and one of the most popular schemes is the HKMA Talent Development Fund, which many local employees are eligible for, as it is open to non-degree and degree holders with a monthly salary of $25,000 or below. The application criteria is simple and it opens until 30 Dec 2022, with the application link as follows: https://www2.hkma.org.hk/general/application-for-talent-development-fund/