A mix of better transport options, vocational training, well-coordinated recruitment programs, employment flexibility, financial subsidies and population policy changes is needed to boost employment on Lantau Island, agreed panelists at a Recruit roundtable. Oswald Chan reports.

The sixth meeting of the Lantau Development Advisory Committee (LanDAC) held in September endorsed the proposed four major parts of the overall spatial planning for the island, with promotional activities to gather public views planned next year.

The four parts proposed are the Northern Lantau Corridor focusing on economic and housing development; the Northeastern Lantau Node for leisure, entertainment and tourism; the East Lantau Metropolis as a strategic growth area with a core business district; and the predominant part of Lantau for conservation, leisure, and cultural and green tourism.

The LanDAC was formed in early 2014 as a top advisory body for the government related to policies, measures and specific proposals conducive to the sustainable development of Lantau. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in his 2014 policy address pledged to develop the island to bolster economic development and employment opportunities.

Building the future

A confluence of infrastructure projects is in full swing to cement Lantau's strategic location within the Pearl River Delta region. These include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Tung Chung New Town Extension, East Lantau Metropolis, the Three-Runway System and North Commercial District at Hong Kong International Airport, among others. The administration estimates that job opportunities in Lantau can skyrocket from the current 90,000 to 470,000 as these projects roll out.

A positive feature amid the expected surge in new Lantau jobs is the island's strong youth population compared with the average age level in Hong Kong.

In Tung Chung, 15- to 34-year-olds account for over 25 percent of the total population; while those aged between 35 and 44 make up more than 15 percent. Over-65s are only 7 percent of the total population on Lantau. As more new towns develop, the population in Tung Chung is tipped to balloon from the current 80,000 to 260,000.

A roundtable conference on held on Dec 11 at the Conrad Hotel by recruitment service provider Recruit, and co-organized by China Daily Hong Kong Edition and the Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA), saw government officials, academics and employers in Lantau exchange views on rolling out the blueprint for long-term manpower planning strategy for the island.

There are numerous employment opportunities in Lantau, panelists noted.

The Hong Kong International Airport currently has 65,000 job positions that need to be filled up.

According to the SAR Labour Department, there are 23,000 private-sector job vacancies on Lantau Island, accounting for 1.8 percent of the total 1.22 million private sector job vacancies in Hong Kong from January to November.

However, despite the bright employment prospects projected for Lantau, roundtable guests still reckoned that it is hard to recruit staff to work on the island because of inefficient transportation, inadequate vocational training qualification, fragmented staff recruitment activities and lack of personnel data banks to facilitate hiring.

"Regarding transportation, current bus services to Lantau are very time-consuming as buses have to make all the stops in the airport area. Local residents living outside Lantau are unwilling to work there as they worry that long commutes after work may increase their physical fatigue," said Cecilia Cheung Fung-ming, executive director at Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl), the major cargo terminal operator at the airport.

Roundtable panelists suggested that the Airport Authority Hong Kong consider providing subsidies to bus companies to streamline routes in Lantau and so slash travel hours, and urged the Airport Authority to play the role of a coordinator to streamline bus services in Lantau and encourage more employment.

"With the anticipated opening of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link in the next two to three years, residents living in Hong Kong's northwestern area can travel more conveniently to Lantau for work. This could break the psychological block among local residents which impedes recruitment in Lantau," Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said.

The second inhibiting factor for jobs on Lantau relates to inadequate vocational training qualification. Employment in Lantau is usually associated with low job skills that lack the qualification frameworks to facilitate career mobility.

Skills upgrade

"Every year we organize training courses for our technical staff so that their technical expertise can be upgraded to fulfill the requirements of other degree courses. This is useful for staff retention and our staff can also benefit from career upward mobility," said Stella Kwan Man-yee, managing director at Ngong Ping 360, a wholly owned subsidiary of MTR Corp and the provider of cable car services from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping Village.

Aviation Security Company (AVSECO) told of how it reaped benefits after launching staff training programs.

"After refining the job process and building the industry image for our airport security staff, the job image has drastically improved and (this) helped trim staff turnover rate from 40 percent three years ago to the current 20 percent," the aviation security service provider's executive director Raymond Lau Chi-keung said. "We will work with the government next year on how to design qualification frameworks for the security industry."

Andrew Wong Hiu-lam, general manager at SSP Hong Kong - a global operator of branded food and beverage outlets at travel locations across 29 countries - agreed that the provision of qualification frameworks can help retain low-skilled workers.

"Currently among the 530 (SSP Hong Kong) employees there are 10 percent who have completed more than 10 years of service. About a third of our total employees have worked for us for over five years," Wong noted.

Raymond So Wai-man, dean of the Business School at Hang Seng Management College, highlighted the importance of understanding the current mindset of young local job seekers. "Employers have to carve out employment conditions that can fit the life cycles of young job seekers these days to unleash the potential of young workers."

"Many young people are bullish on the prospects of Hong Kong as an aviation hub so that many young engineering graduates are willing to commute to Lantau for work," said Man Hau-chung, dean of Engineering at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

"Leading aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus have cooperated with PolyU to introduce engineering courses to train qualified personnel."

Albert Wong Shun-yee, general manager people at Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, said the aviation industry has a bright future. "Educational institutions and corporations should cooperate to provide solid employment opportunities for engineering graduates."

Allen Ha Wing-on, chief executive officer at AsiaWorld-Expo Management (AsiaWorld Expo), an exhibition and convention venue provider in Lantau, suggested a closer working relationship between educational institutions and employers to boost employment on the island.

"Through the one-on-one mentor internship programs provided by employers, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) has recently started training programs in Lantau that enhance employability. Closer connections forged between the two parties can encourage more employment after students finish education in the same place," noted Ha, also the founding chairman of non-government advocacy group Lantau Development Alliance (LaDA).

"The VTC is correct in launching these mentorship programs to enhance career mobility for skilled workers. In the construction industry, we also have devised specific programs to upgrade workers' career trajectory so to speak, to create a middle class in the construction industry," said chief executive Thomas Ho On-shing of Gammon Construction.

"Local universities in Hong Kong lay too much emphasis on elevating their international branding and research capability ranking rather than focus on training enough qualified workers for recruitment. The government should consider reviewing its university policy to keep abreast of current social and economic development," suggested Victor Lee Sze-kuen, executive director of the HKMA and the moderator of the roundtable.

The third impediment to jobs on Lantau - a fragmented recruitment campaign - is also crimping the growth of the job market there.

"Employers in Lantau should coordinate all their resources to launch a major recruitment exercise that contains all the available jobs in Lantau to raise the brand image of the Lantau labor market," AsiaWorld Expo's Ha suggested.

Labour Secretary Cheung agreed, saying that companies should push for concerted efforts to launch unified recruitment programs on the island to enhance economies of scale.

Ha also drew attention to the fourth obstacle that has the job market hamstrung in Lantau - the lack of a labor data bank.

"When local residents living in northwestern areas of Hong Kong can travel more conveniently to Lantau for work after the completion of Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link, the administration may consider compiling a data bank of employees in Tung Chung and Hong Kong's northwestern area to provide job-matching services," Ha suggested.

Corporations should be more flexible in their employment policies in order to build a robust labor market in Lantau, panelists said.

Flexibility is key

"Our company has many overseas training opportunities and this is quite attractive to staff. We try to find out whether there are any regional business trading opportunities that can help retain staff. Moreover, we also willing to hire part-time staff because there is strong demand for part-time jobs among many Tung Chung residents," SSP Hong Kong's Wong added.

Cheung from the Hactl also noted that the company hires part-time staff to perform skilled duties while other low-skilled jobs are left to automation.

To summarize, Labour Secretary Cheung said: "Only after corporations improve remuneration packages, improve qualification frameworks and provide flexible employment conditions, can employers be in a better position to hire adequate and qualified staff."

Panelists also noted that offering financial subsidies to the lower-income group in the city can also boost employment on Lantau.

The government has introduced a spate of relief measures to encourage more low-income earners to commute to other areas for work.

More than 200,000 low-income households involving 710,000 individuals can apply for benefits under the "Low-Income Working Family Allowance" starting May next year and the claim period was extended to November this year.

Under the scheme, a four-member low-income family can get as much as HK$2,200 to HK$2,600 in monthly financial subsidies.

The "Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme" introduced in 2011, which pays HK$600 per month to ease the work commute expense burden for low-income earners, should also boost employment in Lantau.

"All the above financial subsidy programs together with the Statutory Minimum Wage policy introduced in 2011, can become policy levers to stimulate employment level in Lantau," Cheung said.

In closing, panelists also proposed that the government refine its population policy to enhance employment on Lantau.

"Amid the surging elderly population in Hong Kong, corporations in Hong Kong should consider extending the staff retirement age so that more young elderly can remain in employment," Ngong Ping 360's Kwan recommended.

Contact the writer at oswald@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 12/18/2015 page9)