Talent support unit says job eased by having office
The director of Hong Kong Talent Engage on Wednesday said his team will be able to offer more support to people moving to Hong Kong for work now that it has a physical office. The government body was launched as a website last December, but its office in Wan Chai only opened last month. Director Anthony Lau said the website has recorded 1.1 million page views since it went live and the team has dealt with about 5,000 enquiries. People mostly asked about the differences in the government's various talent schemes, as well as education possibilities for children, he said. Lau said having an office has made the job more straightforward. “It is important to have a physical office to go out to work with our partners hand-in-hand, to go to where the talents are, and to do face-to-face contact with the talents for them to get the information directly. I think this human touch is very important to make sure that Hong Kong presents itself well and enhances attracting talents to come to our city,” he said.  “We will work with the industries and also with the Economic and Trade Offices in the mainland and also overseas to go to different talent locations to promote our service as well as to promote Hong Kong as a talent hub,” he added. Lau said they are considering visits to some of the world's top universities and hosting seminars or talent recruitment events overseas.  Asked how the SAR can compete against Shenzhen, which is offering workers from overseas rent subsidies among other things, Lau said Hong Kong still has advantages in certain areas.  “One of the edges for us is to sell Hong Kong as a global city business, financial centre, aviation hub and also our East-meets-West lifestyle that is much easier for our talent to settle down and be comfortable with, on top of the ample opportunity that our city has to offer,” he said. "We are going to integrate into the Greater Bay Area and that presents even more opportunity for talents to use Hong Kong to develop their career by being a connector between the mainland, Hong Kong and the rest of the world."