Around 300 Global Professionals Join HKSTP and HKTTSA Top Talent Pass Recruitment Fair in Bid to Expand Hong Kong’s I&T Talent Pool

(Hong Kong, 18 November 2023) – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Hong Kong Top Talent Services Association (HKTTSA) jointly organised the Top Talent Pass Recruitment Fair, which gathered nearly 300 professionals from leading universities and over 40 park companies for job matching. The recruitment fair aims to attract non-local talents and support the business development of park companies, with a view to establishing Hong Kong as an international I&T hub.

HKSTP has launched the “International I&T Talent Pilot Programme” to provide support to qualified park companies including career expo and talent matching, encouraging them to recruit international I&T talents. In addition, HKSTP will provide comprehensive support to non-local talents. Activities such as cultural experiential workshops and Cantonese classes will be organised to help talents better integrate into the community. Consultation services will be offered to their incoming family members to settle in Hong Kong.

In the latest Policy Address, the government announced a series of initiatives to attract and retain high quality talents including expanding the coverage of universities under the “Top Talent Pass Scheme”. Top talents from the extended list of eligible universities were invited to the recruitment fair, joined by Park companies from strategic I&T industries such as microelectronics, artificial intelligence & data, and biomedical science with a growing demand for top talent. To facilitate I&T development in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch also hosted a booth to hire talent at the fair.

Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said, "Hong Kong is facing a serious shortage in R&D talents. There are always over 1,000 job vacancies at Science Park. Talent is the key to propelling I&T advancement. Hence, we are delighted to partner with HKTTSA to organise this novel recruitment fair, showcasing the potential and opportunities of I&T in Hong Kong to non-local talents. Park companies will also be able to achieve business growth with enhancement in talent resources.”

“We hope the new ‘International I&T Talent Pilot Programme’ will help talents make Hong Kong their home. They will undoubtedly add momentum to the development of our I&T industry. To further strengthen the city’s talent pool, HKSTP will continue to collaborate with different sectors to attract talents from all over the world.” He added.

The fair was nothing like the conventional one-way recruitment process. Interactive activities were held during which talents could exchange views with industry leaders and get insights from Mainland professionals in Hong Kong. During the "Top Talent Show", talents could share their career aspirations with other guests. Over half of the participants submitted their resumes and attended interviews; and most of the talents established connections with park companies through the recruitment fair.

Moderated by Legislative Council Member Dr Wendy Hong, the panel discussion titled “Dialogue with Industry Leaders – Pioneering the Way in Innovation and Technology from Hong Kong to Global Impact” was organised. Speakers including Professor Liu Yun-hui, Director of Hong Kong Centre for Logistics Robotics, InnoHK; Professor Liu Pengtao, Managing Director of Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology, InnoHK; Mr Zhang Wayne, Research Director of SenseTime, and Dr Miles Wen, Founder & CEO of Fano Labs Limited. They explored the competitive edges of Hong Kong such as international level R&D and commercialisation, as well as the opportunities for I&T talent.

Mr Shang Hailong, Founding President of HKTTSA, said, “It is of utmost importance for Hong Kong to attract top talents in support of its economic growth. Since its launch, the Top Talent Pass Scheme has recorded over 55,000 applications with 43,000 approved cases. The scheme received great support from society and attracted talents to pursue their dreams in Hong Kong. I believe that if we have enough top talents coming to Hong Kong, we will see a better tomorrow. In turn, we can offer a brighter future for the top talents in Hong Kong.”

The recruitment fair is one of the key activities of HKSTP's "Autumn Talent Fest". On 26 November, HKSTP will lead 20 park companies to join the "Hong Kong-Shenzhen Recruitment Fair" in Shenzhen to promote Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem to more than 3,000 university graduates in the Greater Bay Area.