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The following is issued on behalf of the Commission on Youth:
The Study on the Youth Competitiveness Indicator System in Hong Kong commissioned by the Commission on Youth (CoY) has been completed and its report was published today (March 31).
The CoY issued the Hong Kong Youth Development Indicators Study in 2011 to examine various aspects of Hong Kong youth development, among which "competitiveness" was one of the indicators studied. In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the competitiveness of youth in Hong Kong, the CoY, through the Home Affairs Bureau, commissioned the Business, Economic and Public Policy Research Centre of Hong Kong Shue Yan University to conduct a Study on the Youth Competitiveness Indicator System in Hong Kong.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of youth competitiveness, develop approaches to define the concept, and propose an assessment standard and coverage. It established an indicator system, developed relevant measurable indicators and collected various types of data on Hong Kong youth to facilitate the verification process for the indicator system. The study aimed to provide reference data for developing suitable public policies and understanding youth competitiveness in Hong Kong.
The study was divided into two phases. The first phase defined the concept of youth competitiveness through reviewing documents and reports as well as interviewing experts. The relevant assessment standard, coverage and indicator system were also established. The research team defined youth competitiveness as "the capacity of youth to independently strive for sustainable development under uncertain societal circumstances". According to the study, youth competitiveness was not to be used to measure one's success or failure. Neither would it be used to draw a conclusion on an individual's life. To maintain competitiveness, young people should make improvements themselves and learn from different situations and challenges encountered in their development process.
In establishing the indicator system, the research team first delved into youth competitiveness in two directions, namely "sustainable development of the youth and their various capabilities" and "keeping in line with future development trends". The team reviewed over 100 articles relevant to youth competitiveness and identified 21 elements and grouped them into seven indicators, namely "adaptability to future changes", "basic skills competence", "psychological features", "regular soft power", "inherent factor", "human resources" and "supporting environment".
During the second phase, the study gathered micro-data by conducting a questionnaire survey, and macro-data from the official data of the Government or representative organisations. The target groups of the questionnaire survey included senior secondary students, tertiary students, working youths and non-engaged youths. The study collected a total of 4 253 questionnaires from young people aged between 15 and 24. After data collection, the study also verified the survey data of the indicator system statistically and calculated the scores of youth competitiveness by combining micro-data and macro-data.
Regarding the macro-data, the research team extracted all or some of the sub-indices of three global indices to obtain the macro-data using the weighting method. The three global indices are the Global Competitiveness Index, the Global Cities Index and the QS Best Student Cities Rankings.
After the collection process of macro-data and micro-data, the research team converted them into numerical data according to a scale of 1 to 100, to form the various composite indicators on youth competitiveness by way of a weighted average approach. According to the result of the study, the overall score of youth competitiveness in Hong Kong in 2014 is 74.5.
As this study is the first of its kind, it could enhance the public understanding of youth competitiveness. It is suggested that more in-depth studies be conducted in future on the basis of the indicator system. The data of this study can also be used as the baseline data to carry out cross-point analysis on the development trend of youth competitiveness in Hong Kong, and further understand the mutual effect between different factors and competitiveness. In addition, more in-depth studies, taking into account different scenarios and needs of the youth, are proposed to be conducted in future. Some competitiveness elements may be selected for conducting further research on the rationale and effects of various advantages and disadvantages of youth, so as to work out more effective ways to help the youth enhance their competitiveness.
The study report has been uploaded to the CoY website (www.coy.gov.hk) for perusal.
Ends/Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:00
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