Young construction workers shortage

Concerns are being expressed over the future of the construction industry's labor force with the release of figures showing only 6 percent of the 260,000 workers are under 25. Workers aged 50 or above account for 30 percent of the labor force, said Secretary for Development Carrie Lam at a Legislative Council meeting Tuesday. The lack of young registered construction workers will be a problem in the future, as large-scale infrastructure projects begin in the coming years, she said.

The government has set aside a HK$100 million fund for the Construction Industry Council to attract young people into the trades.

Mainlanders claim 62% of PhD offers

Seventy-one mainland applicants have won PhD fellowships offered by the Research Grants Council (RGC) for the next academic year, accounting for 62 percent of the total number of offerings. The RGC offered PhD fellowships to 134 candidates. Of those, 115 already have accepted. The fellowship program was launched last year to attract elite students to pursue PhD studies in Hong Kong.

Local candidates won 10 offers (9 percent). The remaining 34 (29 percent) come from other parts of the world, including 13 (11 percent) from Europe, 12 (10 percent) from other Asian countries, six (5 percent) from America, two (2 percent) from Africa, and one (1 percent) from Australia.

Ngong Ping 360 suspended by gale

Cable car rides at Ngong Ping 360 were suspended for three hours due to strong winds Tuesday. The tourist attraction on Lantau Island that usually opens at 10 am didn't start taking passengers until 1 pm.

The attraction has been afflicted by glitches and mishaps that forced Ngong Ping 360 to suspend operations 10 times last year.

China Daily

(HK Edition 03/31/2010 page1)