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    A video conference aiming at exploring career opportunities in Hong Kong will be held in Toronto and Vancouver on Friday (March 18, Canada time). The conference is for Hong Kong students studying at Canadian universities, connecting them to human resources and career development experts in Hong Kong.

    Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (CITB) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the annual career conference, which is in its third year, is expected to attract more than 300 Hong Kong students from universities in southern Ontario and British Columbia.

    "That's the maximum capacity we can accommodate at our conference venues in the two major Canadian cities," HKETO Director Mr Bassanio So said. "The rest will have to watch the proceeding on the webcast." Mr So said the HKSAR Government wanted to encourage more foreign-trained talent to ride the wave of economic development in Hong Kong, Asia's world city, and to play a role in the economic integration between Hong Kong and South China.

    To be held simultaneously this Friday at 7.30pm (Toronto time) at the HKETO in Toronto, at 4.30pm (Vancouver time) at Asia Pacific Hall of the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and at 8.30am, Saturday (Hong Kong time) at the CITB in Hong Kong, this cross-Pacific video conference will provide latest career information and useful advices on the career opportunities available in various sectors in Hong Kong.

    Four guest speakers from Hong Kong's business sectors will be participating as panelists. They are: CEO of Futurekids O/B Futurecyber Technology Solution Ltd Mr Eric Chin, General Manager, Human Resources Services, Jardine Matheson Limited Ms Nancy Chan, Partner of Ernest & Young Ms Catherine Yen and recent Canadian university graduate Miss Alice Suen, who is under an executive training programme with the HSBC in Hong Kong.

    The video conference will be jointly hosted by Mr So in Canada, Mr Philip Yung, Deputy Secretary of the CITB and Mr Chin in Hong Kong.

    The participants, mostly representing Hong Kong student associations, are coming from the following universities: the University of Toronto, York University, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario, McMaster University, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and University of Victoria.

    The video conference will be webcast live by Radio Television Hong Kong at http://www.rthk.org.hk/special/careervideoconference2005 on Saturday at 8.30am (Hong Kong time).

Ends/Tuesday, March 15, 2005

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