Speeches

Speech by CS at Opening Ceremony of 35th HKIHRM Annual Conference & Exhibition (English only)

Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the opening ceremony of the 35th Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM) Annual Conference and Exhibition (November 24):

Mr David Li (President of HKIHRM), distinguished speakers, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you at the opening ceremony of the 35th Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management Annual Conference and Exhibition. Let me first extend my warm welcome to the human resource management professionals from other economies who have come to Hong Kong to join our local professionals in this important conference.

I would like to congratulate the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management for choosing "People First" as the theme of this conference. I fully share the Institute’s conviction that "the most important asset of any business is its people". I would say the same applies not only to businesses, but also to the government, public bodies and society as a whole. This is particularly true for Hong Kong where the service industries play a predominant role in driving our economic development.

Before our society as a whole addresses the issue of "People First", we have to understand our demographic situation. Our Census and Statistics Department released in September this year an updated set of population projections for the next 50 years. These reaffirm the fact that Hong Kong is facing a number of significant population challenges. For a start, our population is ageing and ageing fast; as our people are living longer while our birth rate is among the lowest in the world. The proportion of elderly persons aged 65 and over is projected to rise markedly, from 15 per cent in 2014 to 30 per cent in 2034. The total labour force is projected to peak at 3.65 million in 2018, gradually decreasing to 3.11 million in 2064. Skills mismatch and lack of job diversity are also growing concerns.

It is for this very reason that the Hong Kong SAR Government attaches great importance in formulating a population policy with the objective of "developing and nurturing a population that will continuously support and drive Hong Kong's socio-economic development as Asia's world city, and engendering a socially inclusive and cohesive society that allows individuals to realise their potential, with a view to attaining quality life for all residents and families".

Immediately following the Chief Executive’s Policy Address in January this year, we published the "Population Policy : Strategies and Initiatives" report, outlining some 50 specific initiatives to help optimise our future demographic structure and raise the quantity and quality of our population to meet the aforesaid challenges.

"People first" can also be used to describe the philosophy of the Government in our own management of human resources. As you all know, with a total strength of over 170,000 civil servants, the Hong Kong SAR Government is the largest employer in Hong Kong. To maintain the high level of quality and efficiency of our public services, we endeavour to equip our civil servants with every necessary skill and instill upon them the right culture and mindset. Our Civil Service Training and Development Institute formulates training policies and provides support to bureaux and departments in training and development matters. The Institute serves the core functions of providing senior executive development, national studies programmes, consultancy services for bureaux and departments on human resource management initiatives, and promotion of a continuous learning culture in the civil service. Every year, the Civil Service Bureau organises over 100 training programmes and activities for civil servants of more than 1,000 ranks from all bureaux and departments. We hope that by continuously investing in our human resources, the quality of services to members of the public will continue to be enhanced.

"People First" can also mean putting people as the primary consideration in the decision-making process. In the context of public services, while public servants endeavour to provide the highest level of service possible, we do need innovative ways of service delivery. Social innovation - the creation of new products and services that create social value and meet changing social need - therefore becomes important. We need to create new business models that can help to keep this city growing as a successful community that gives hope and prospect to all its members.

To encourage social innovation, the Government has launched a $500 million Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund to stimulate cross-sector collaboration, sharing learning and experience, guiding resources to groom and coach entrepreneurs, incubating and implementing new ideas, with the expectation that some of these will lead to new, sustainable businesses that help tackle poverty and social exclusion in the community.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure you will benefit from the insights of the speakers in this two-day Conference. I wish the Conference a great success. I hope the participants, particularly those who come from other economies, could squeeze some time out of your busy schedule to explore and enjoy our city, simply for leisure and pleasure, when Christmas is just around the corner.

Thank you very much.