The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (September 29) chaired the third meeting of the fourth-term Human Resources Planning Commission.
 
     The Development Bureau (DEVB) briefed members at the meeting on measures to address the manpower needs of the construction industry. It reported that the Government would continue to implement government projects related to economic development and people's livelihood. The original estimate for the Government's average annual capital works expenditure in the coming five years was about $120 billion. To support the local construction industry, the Government will earmark an additional $30 billion in the next two to three years to increase the expenditure on works projects to continue to drive economic development. With the recovery of the economy, the volume of private sector works projects is expected to rebound, and the demand for construction personnel will remain high. The DEVB has been adopting a multi-pronged approach, including enhancing local training and attracting new blood, driving technology adoption to raise the productivity of the local work force, with a view to addressing the ageing problem of the construction industry and manpower shortages for individual trades, while deploying non-local manpower resources as a supplementary measure. In support of the Government's array of measures to address manpower demand and promote development of the construction industry, members offered advice on the related work.
 
     At the meeting, the Transport and Logistics Bureau also briefed members on the latest manpower planning and development plan for the maritime and aviation sectors, including the strategies and actions on manpower development as set out in the Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy and the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering promulgated in December 2023 and November 2024 respectively. Members were also briefed about the background and recent findings of the comprehensive review of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund (MATF), and noted the major recommendations and the corresponding enhancement measures. In particular, the Maritime Services Traineeship Scheme (Legal) launched in September 2023 and two new schemes (i.e. the Maritime Services Trainee Scheme (Marine Insurance) and the Train-the-Trainers Scheme to be launched in November and December 2025 respectively) under the MATF aimed at nurturing home-grown high value-added maritime services practitioners and enhancing the industry's training capacity. On the aviation industry, members were briefed on the latest initiatives implemented by the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy and the implementation progress of the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry. Members were pleased to note the effectiveness of the above measures, and expressed support for the Government's continued efforts in manpower development of the industries with a view to consolidating Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub and an international shipping centre.
 
     Members were also briefed by the Census and Statistics Department on the latest situation and characteristics of Hong Kong's population and labour force. In the face of an ageing population, the current-term Government has introduced various measures to encourage childbirth as well as policies to attract talents in order to cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage and provide impetus for future population growth. Meanwhile, the improvement in the educational attainment and productivity of the labour force also helps drive the sustained development of Hong Kong's economy. Members welcomed the various measures which aimed at enhancing Hong Kong's future workforce, in the hope that such measures would be conducive to the long-term sustainable development across industries in Hong Kong. 

Ends/Monday, September 29, 2025
Issued at HKT 20:08

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