LCQ1: Solving manpower shortage problem in aviation industry
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Question:
It has been reported that the COVID-19 epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong's aviation industry, resulting in a substantial loss of manpower in the industry. Some members of the aviation industry have relayed that with the relaxation of anti-epidemic measures in various places, the demand for air transport is expected to increase rapidly, and the problem of manpower succession in the aviation industry will become more severe by then. Such situation will not only affect the supply of outbound flights, but also make it difficult to meet the requirements placed upon Hong Kong in the context of the overall development of the country, putting Hong Kong in danger of losing its important status as an international aviation hub. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities know the manpower demand and supply situation of various job types in the aviation industry, including the total number of employed persons in 2022 and the number of existing job vacancies, and whether they have assessed if the relevant manpower in the aviation industry is sufficient to meet the demand arising from the resumption of growth in passenger and cargo flights;
(2) of the support measures implemented by the Government to assist the industry in solving the manpower shortage problem, and the respective effectiveness of such measures; and
(3) given that some members of the industry have relayed that some job types in the aviation industry, such as pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, runway maintenance personnel and air cargo loadmasters, are facing an acute shortage of manpower, whether the authorities will consider including the aforesaid job types in the Talent List of Hong Kong, and importing the aforesaid types of workers at or below the level of technician under the Supplementary Labour Scheme as short-term measures to solve the manpower shortage problem; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Hong Kong is an international aviation hub. In view of the severe impact of the pandemic on Hong Kong's aviation industry, the Government and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) respectively rolled out various relief measures during the pandemic in support of the industry. The Government also continued to fully support the AAHK in implementing the Three-Runway System project and other projects under the Airport City vision in order to boost the competitiveness of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).
Since the Government relaxed inbound control measures, passenger throughput of HKIA has been recovering steadily. As of January 2023, air traffic movement and passenger throughput have respectively recovered to 50 per cent and 35 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. With the cancellation of the vast majority of the inbound control measures, as well as the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, we believe that Hong Kong's aviation industry will continue to recover, and the manpower demand in the industry will rise accordingly.
In response to the three parts of the Hon Lam's questions, my reply is as follows:
(1) During the pandemic, the manpower level in the aviation industry decreased with the plunge in Hong Kong's air traffic volume, which has led to the manpower shortage faced by the industry now. In the light of this, the Chief Executive has in the 2022 Policy Address tasked the Transport and Logistics Bureau to review the labour shortage situation in the transport sector, including the aviation industry, and draw up solutions. In this connection, the Government has been liaising with the aviation industry to understand their views and needs. According to the rough estimate of the AAHK in end-2022, there are about 53 000 people working at HKIA. In order to have a better grasp of the manpower situation in the airport community, the AAHK is now conducting a fresh round of airport manpower survey, which is expected to be completed within this quarter. After consolidating the views of the industry and reviewing the results of the relevant survey, the Government will, in association with the AAHK, consider the feasibility of various options, with a view to coming up with relevant measures in the second half of this year so as to drive the sustainable manpower development in the aviation industry.
(2) In face of the manpower shortage in the aviation industry, in order to maintain the competitiveness of HKIA amid the recovery of the aviation industry, the Government has been maintaining close communication and dialogue with the AAHK and the aviation industry, with a range of measures taken to relieve the short-term pressure on manpower within the industry.
In terms of recruitment and staff deployment, the AAHK has co-operated with the Labour Department and workers’ unions respectively in organising job fairs for HKIA. Such recruitment activities will continue to be organised in the coming months. In addition, the AAHK rolled out a staff pooling pilot scheme in December 2022, whereby the AAHK arranges a small team of staff whose ramp support service can be hired by airport operators when they are short-staffed. The AAHK will consider expanding the scheme to other job types in future.
With regard to improving airport staff's benefits, apart from extending the temporary measures under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme as announced earlier, the Government has also been encouraging public transport operators to offer concessions to eligible airport staff. On the other hand, the AAHK has constructed the HKIA Community Building for the airport community, with the restaurant, preschool, fitness centre and other facilities therein opening in phases to increase the attractiveness of working at HKIA. Furthermore, the AAHK will implement other measures that will leave the airport community with more financial resources for hiring and improving staff's remuneration packages, including extending waivers and concessions of some airport fees. The Government is also exploring with the AAHK ways to help and encourage the aviation industry to hire more staff and retain talents, such as improving transport arrangements for staff and providing financial incentives.
As for medium- to long-term manpower shortage, the AAHK has been proactively introducing innovation and technology to relieve staffing pressure at HKIA, such as using autonomous tractors for baggage delivery and rolling out “Flight Token” to allow passengers to pass through airport checkpoints through facial recognition.
In terms of training, the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy (HKIAA) provides various aviation-related training courses. In addition, the Government is also expanding the eligibility criteria of and relaxing the employment requirements on graduates benefitting from various aviation-related training and incentive schemes supported by the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund, with a view to encouraging more young people to enroll in aviation-related technical training courses or professional programmes for their career development and for attracting new blood for the aviation industry.
Besides, to nurture more young people to join the aviation industry in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a whole, the HKIAA will, in collaboration with the relevant aviation training institutions in the Mainland, launch the GBA Youth Aviation Industry Internship Programme whereby students from Hong Kong and the Mainland will be posted to HKIA and other airports in the GBA respectively for internship, thereby helping to support the long-term manpower development of the aviation industry in Hong Kong and the GBA. The programme will be launched in the first half of 2023.
(3) The Talent List of Hong Kong aims to attract high quality professional talents who are most needed in the immediate to medium term for the development of Hong Kong's economy. As far as pilots are concerned, to safeguard local pilots' employment opportunities and encourage local airlines to train cadet pilots, we consider that the existing market availability test under the General Employment Policy should continue to apply to pilots so as to align with the Government's policy objective of nurturing local aviation talents.
As for workers at or below the level of technician, the Government appreciates that some aviation industry practitioners have suggested importing labour from other parts of the GBA to meet the manpower need on the airport frontline. The Government will listen to and carefully consider suggestions from the industry, the AAHK and other relevant stakeholders. For all proposals involving importation of labour, the Government will consider the actual need of the industry and the impact on the local labour market, with a view to striking a balance between them.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Issued at HKT 13:03
Issued at HKT 13:03
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