Following is a question by the Hon Kingsley Wong and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (November 11):

Question:

     Regarding the work of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents (the Committee), will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as the Committee has indicated that it will adopt three major strategic directions to enhance the system, aggregation and synergy of policies, as well as the cross-bureaux co-ordination in the work on promoting integrated development of education, technology and talents, of the work the Committee has carried out and the results it has achieved since its establishment;

(2) as it is learnt that, in order to meet the needs of artificial intelligence development and industrial transformation, the country is encouraging higher education institutions to significantly phase out obsolete disciplines and substantially increase emerging disciplines, with a view to nurturing more new types of talents, whether the Committee has made reference to the relevant directions in carrying out work to nurture local talents suited to technological and industrial development; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as the country's Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan proposes that Hong Kong should consolidate, enhance and develop "ten centres, two hubs, one ecosystem, one metropolitan area and one highland", of the work plans put in place by the Committee to nurture local talents that meet the needs of Hong Kong's development positioning?

Reply:

President,

     The Committee on Education, Technology and Talents (CETT) was established in December 2024. It is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, with the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, the Secretary for Education, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, and the Permanent Secretaries of the three policy bureaux serving as members. The CETT is tasked to co-ordinate the work to promote integrated development of education, technology and talents.

     In consultation with the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, Education Bureau (EDB), and Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB), I reply, on behalf of the CETT, to the question raised by the Member as follows:

(1) Since its establishment, the CETT has formulated macro policies and promoted related work in accordance with three strategic directions, including attracting high-quality innovation and technology (I&T) talents, establishing an international education hub, and enhancing the talent schemes and talent services. The Policy Addresses in the past two years have incorporated a number of policy measures formulated by the CETT, and Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan also reflects the macro policy directions proposed by the CETT.

     The progress of the CETT's main work covers the following fronts:

     On education, the Government is committed to consolidating Hong Kong's position as an international education hub and an international hub for high-calibre talents. The Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT) is core to Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan. The three university towns of San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu and Ta Kwu Ling will be developed based on the concept of town areas and planned around "One Town, Five Elements", with the strategic positioning that integrates the four pillars of "talent cultivation, scientific research, transformation of outcomes, industry development", in a bid to achieve the integrated development of education, technology and talents. To dovetail with the development of the NMUT, and raise Hong Kong's scientific research capabilities, the Government will introduce measures in 2027 to support the capacity expansion and enhancement of post-secondary education, including increasing the number of the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded research postgraduate places, progressively increasing the number of quota of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, and providing additional funding to support knowledge transfer and the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education.

     In terms of technology development, the Government is advancing the layout and development of the "three major I&T parks and five key research and development institutes" at a high level to achieve "attracting talents through industry". As an important national science and technology strategic platform, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Loop Hong Kong Park) officially opened at the end of last year. To date, over 120 industry-university-research institutions have progressively moved in. The Park is also providing talent accommodation and living facilities with a view to attracting and retaining outstanding I&T talents from the Chinese Mainland and overseas. As mentioned in Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan, the Loop and its natural extension, the San Tin Technopole, will synergise in an upstream-midstream-downstream manner. The two park companies will also jointly participate in the development and construction of the NMUT. In addition, the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) launched the $3 billion Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme in September 2025, with a view to attracting I&T talents to converge in Hong Kong. The ITC also introduced further enhancement measures to the Technology Talent Admission Scheme at the end of the same year.

     On talent attraction, we, under the steer of the CETT, have continued to enhance a package of measures to trawl for outside talents, including putting in place a groundbreaking arrangement under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to proactively invite top-notch and leading talents to come to Hong Kong, actively persuading targeted top-notch talents to settle in Hong Kong for development in light of various development needs of the country and Hong Kong. Furthermore, under the steer of the CETT, the Labour and Welfare Bureau introduced a new channel in late June 2025 for admitting professionals of specified skilled trades to Hong Kong to join eight skilled trades facing acute manpower shortage. The various talent attraction measures have received positive responses and are widely welcomed by outside talents. As at end-September 2026, more than 320 000 worldwide talents from diverse industries were attracted to work and pursue development in Hong Kong under the various talent admission schemes. We, under the steer of the CETT, will continue to monitor manpower changes dynamically through manpower projections and follow-up surveys, and continue to enhance talent admission arrangements to attract talents in a targeted manner.

(2) and (3) There are community expectations for the universities to meet the manpower needs of the nation and Hong Kong, as well as the Government's policy priorities, by nurturing talents with a broad interdisciplinary knowledge base and diverse capabilities. In the 2025/26 to 2027/28 triennial planning exercise, the EDB has been supporting the universities in reviewing and introducing programmes in response to Government policies, market demand and industry trends. The information on manpower needs provided by relevant policy bureaux/departments have been repositioned as Policy Guidance on Talent Development. The Strategic Platform on Talent Development in Higher Education has also been established to facilitate close communication among relevant policy bureaux/departments, universities and industries on manpower trends and needs, and to encourage the universities to refine their curricula in closer alignment with policy objectives and market demand. The UGC-funded universities are introducing a total of 27 undergraduate programmes related to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) or the "eight centres". Many of these programmes integrate technology with other fields, including the humanities, finance and healthcare, with a view to strengthening training in artificial intelligence applications, interdisciplinary knowledge and problem-solving skills. The Government is commencing preparations for the 2028/29 to 2030/31 triennial planning exercise and will maintain close communication with the universities, with a keen focus on talent cultivation and manpower trends in technological and industrial development, so as to strengthen the alignment between the knowledge and skills of the younger generation and Hong Kong's future economic and social development.

     The ITIB has strengthened the nurturing of local I&T talents through various measures. The ITC will expand the STEM Internship Scheme by providing around 10 000 internship quotas within two years, with each intern receiving a subsidy of no less than $11,000. It was also announced in the Policy Address this year the creation of a young researcher category under the Innovation and Technology Support Programme to further support young people in exploring and pursuing careers in I&T. On the research talent front, the Research Talent Hub supports enterprises and research institutions in engaging research talents, with the target of increasing the number of approved applications from about 10 500 cases in 2022 to 18 500 cases in 2027. These measures help expand the local I&T talent pool and, in tandem with platforms such as the Loop Hong Kong Park and the San Tin Technopole, provide more application scenarios and development opportunities for I&T talents.

Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:00

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