For any business hoping to drive growth in Asia, Hong Kong is the partner of choice. As a global business hub, the city continues to attract the world’s best and brightest to its shores with proactive efforts to build a diverse talent pool that ranks among the top in the world.
By investing in targeted international talent acquisition initiatives, which underscore the government’s commitment to helping businesses access the best global hires, Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), a platform that facilitates talent engagement and supports their transition to Hong Kong, has organised four “Global Online Career Fairs” and eight large-scale physical job fairs this year.
Global participants appreciate the chance to land an excellent job in Hong Kong without having to travel for interviews, notes HKTE director Felix Chan, adding that around 60 per cent of the applicants have a master’s degree or higher. “The first three online job fairs held this year attracted more than 100,000 visits and received over 10,000 job applications. Feedback from both employers and jobseekers has been positive and a convincing example of how we match talent from around the world with Hong Kong employers.”
With efficient job-matching across international markets, the one-on-one chat room, a significant feature of the online fairs, helps ensure better alignment between candidates’ skills and job requirements.
Paul Hotchan, head of talent acquisition for The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), says: “As one of Hong Kong’s largest employers and a world-class sports and entertainment organisation, having access to top international talent is really critical for our mission, which is to drive economic and social value. By taking part in these events and using HKTE’s unique online job platform, we have had the opportunity to engage with talent from Southeast Asia, Europe and other parts of the world.”
HKTE’s platform not only allows HKJC to connect easily with individuals, understand their motivations and aspirations and explain where they would fit within the organisation’s integrated business model, Hotchan adds, but it also provides valuable insights into what candidates are looking for in terms of career trajectory, goals, stability and quality of life.
“We bring in talent from overseas because they have skills that are not necessarily available here,” says Hotchan, who leads a 40-strong team that oversees employer branding, executive search, lateral hiring and early career programmes. “There is a lot of innovation going on globally, and we want to tap into that expertise and share those skills with local talent. So during the last online fair, we were primarily targeting people in technology, data and AI, which are key areas of focus for us.”
Abhishek Sengupta is one of the most recent HKJC and HKTE success stories. After living in Singapore for about 10 years, the Indian national relocated to Hong Kong in October to take up a new job as HKJC’s senior technical manager for IT major incident recovery.
Sengupta found the overall recruitment process a rewarding experience, making it easy to demonstrate his skills effectively and identify the best fit for his qualifications.
After receiving the job offer, he says, “HKTE’s platform was extremely helpful and user-friendly, and HKJC also provided great support in the post-offer process with the work visa and traversing administrative arrangements.”
The platform also served as a virtual tour of life in a new city and a new culture, offering information on housing and transport, as well as community and social activities.
With solid onboarding strategies designed specifically for internationally sourced talent, Sengupta says he felt comfortable even before he moved to Hong Kong, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by how easy it has been to settle in, with comprehensive support services “helping me integrate more effectively. To anyone thinking of coming to Hong Kong, I would say be curious, be open to opportunities and don’t hesitate to ask for help.”
For jobseekers interested in Hong Kong, there has never been a better time to make the leap. Chan says HKTE will continue to organise job fairs, seminars and initiatives involving an even wider range of employers in the coming year. HKTE’s future work will include hosting information sessions on major initiatives such as the government’s Top Talent Pass Scheme and offering external talent comprehensive support to foster a sense of belonging.
“Our team engages in a lot of outreach activities around the world – so far participating in more than 190 programmes in 70 overseas visits – to talk about Hong Kong’s advantages and how people can live, work and thrive here,” Chan says. “Over the past year, we have organised seminars on starting a business, volunteer services to help integrate incoming talent and job fairs with different themes based on the government’s ‘eight centres’ of development,” referring to areas such as finance, aviation, arts and culture, innovation and technology, and intellectual property trading.
Hong Kong’s efforts to reinforce its long-term commitment to expanding and augmenting its pool of international talent will continue to be a joint effort of the public and private sectors, including partners such as the HKJC, as well as industry associations and chambers, who help HKTE tailor strategies and campaigns with information on emerging market trends and existing job vacancies in the professional market. “There is a strong foundation,” Chan says, “but we still need to attract global talent with diverse backgrounds and expertise to create impetus for long-term growth in the city.”
