Talent.gov.hk launched:
One-stop online manpower information portal
Consolidates human resources information and data
1 December 2019
Quality human resources are an important factor in propelling Hong Kong’s development. The Government not only conducts apt and comprehensive manpower planning for the future, but also strives to nurture home-grown talent and attract talent from other places in order to support the strategic development of our city as a high value-added diversified economy and an international metropolis, as well as to overcome the challenge of an ageing population and an insufficient labour force.
Under my chairmanship, the Human Resources Planning Commission (HRPC) has been exploring various issues and policies related to human resources since its establishment in April 2018. It is worth noting that the advancement of innovative technology has dominated the world’s economic development and transformation of industries, followed with the automation of work processes which entails the emergence of new job types and work skills required in the labour market. Besides, our younger generation may not be satisfied with a stable life-long occupation but may instead yearn for a diversified and flexible career path in terms of skills possession. Faced with such developments, our working population must keep pace with the times and the labour market trends to make orderly planning for vocational, training and career development.
In view of the plethora of piecemeal information on human resources in Hong Kong, the HRPC has established a one-stop manpower information portal (talent.gov.hk) to provide useful information and data consolidated from different sources to the local workforce, especially the younger generation, for easy reference in planning their career, learning and development pathways. Besides, career guidance teachers may also make use of the information provided to help their students in life planning. This manpower information portal is officially launched today (1 December).
Talent.gov.hk - an extraordinary and unique portal consolidating market information
Themed on talent and skills, and integrating solid data with interesting information, talent.gov.hk transcends the limit of single-source information. Job seekers, employees as well as career guidance teachers are kept informed of market trends and provided with a host of information on life planning. The unique characteristics of this portal include:
- User-based: Using this portal, people at different career stages may search and explore all kinds of useful information anytime based on their own needs. The portal database covers over 300 occupations, providing inter-related information such as key tasks of the occupations, skill requirements, entry requirements, career path, learning and training opportunities, as well as information on vacancies in the market.
- High reference value: To make the information therein more forward-looking, the portal provides, with reference to local and overseas studies, analyses on the employment prospects of various industries, including their manpower demand and automation potential, through which users can easily learn about the future development trends of different industries.
- Skill-based: Making use of the big data from major occupation-related social networks, analyses on common or emerging skills required by different occupations are provided and linked up with the related human resources information and data, so that users can search by type of skill for information on relevant occupations, training courses and job vacancies.
- Provide information for self-advancement: The portal hosts a database of courses covering both learning programmes listed in the local Qualifications Register and open online courses on edX, a major overseas education platform. It enables users to browse both local and overseas training courses to select the most suitable ways to enhance their skills, thus encouraging lifelong learning.
- Enhanced interactive function: There are three career quizzes on the website which enable users to explore different career pathways based on their interests, skills and background.
I would like to stress that, though not an employment website, talent.gov.hk seeks to provide instant information on job vacancies to reflect the latest manpower demand for different jobs in the employment market. It covers government job vacancies, and provides information on tens of thousands of vacancies in the private market through partnership with some major employment websites. In other words, users no longer need to browse individual websites for the information they need. What’s more, the portal is updated daily to ensure the information remains relevant and can reflect the latest market trends.
Besides, an online monthly magazine "Explorer" ("飛雲" in Chinese) is published on the portal. Derived from an internet colloquialism, meaning "look, here comes the opportunity", the Chinese title connotes that users will succeed in finding great opportunities in the job market. The colloquialism was in fact a punchline in a Japanese Ani-Com which has been vested with multiple meanings such as job-changing and promotion. Focusing on a different industry each month, the magazine examines the pains and joys, opportunities and challenges as well as talent and skill requirements of the industry in its feature stories and columns. To attract more viewers, publicity will also be launched in major social media.
On the occasion of the successful launch of talent.gov.hk today, I would like to extend my gratitude to all members of the HRPC and partner organisations for their participation. The portal is an innovative attempt to reap the fruits of collaboration of the public and private sectors. From now on, we will monitor the operation and visitor flow of the portal to further enhance its attractiveness based on the actual utilisation and browsing habits of users.
We understand that upgrading our human resources from multiple perspectives to meet the local economic development needs in the short, medium and long run is a vital part of our work on human resources policies and initiatives. Despite the current situation in Hong Kong, we have not seen a large scale of brain drain for the time being. Hong Kong’s institutional strengths and core competencies remain strong and recognised by many international organisations. However, it is inevitable for some local and expatriate talent to turn to other places for development owing to different considerations. Nevertheless, we have to restore order and peace immediately in order to retain talent, regain the confidence and trust of the international community, and rebuild the international image of Hong Kong. At the same time, to enhance our competitiveness, we will continue to keep tabs on the latest manpower situation and consolidate the resources of various sectors for formulating an up-to-date manpower plan, so that our younger generation can grasp the opportunities for upward mobility and cope with future challenges.
