Press Release
HKBU survey reveals demands to relax eligibility for the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme
Tuesday, 23 Nov 2021
A Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) survey found that more than 70% of responding young adults think that the educational requirements of the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme (the Scheme) should be relaxed. It also affirmed that career opportunities and funding support for startups or employment in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area (hereafter referred to as the GBA) are the key pull factors that influence young adults' willingness to engage in economic activities in the GBA.
In recent years the Hong Kong SAR Government has made a major effort to promote the city's integration with the GBA and persuade young people to work and pursue their careers there. The Scheme was launched in 2020 to encourage enterprises with operations in both Hong Kong and the GBA to recruit and deploy recent local university graduates to the GBA. Successful applicants of the Scheme will be stationed in the GBA for work, and besides receiving on-the-job training, they will also be offered a monthly salary of no less than HK$18,000.
To evaluate the Scheme's attractiveness and understand young people's perceptions of the GBA, a research team led by Dr Jiang Jin, Assistant Professor of the Department of Sociology at HKBU, conducted an online survey from September to October 2021 with 2,003 young adults in Hong Kong aged between 21 and 40. The survey collected the respondents' opinions on the Scheme and their evaluations of the opportunities and challenges of working or starting a business in the GBA. The research project is funded by the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme of the Government's Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office.
Education-related requirements should be relaxed
The survey found that almost a half of the respondents holding a university degree or above consider the Scheme to be unattractive. Although only university degree or above holders are eligible for the Scheme, 47% consider the Scheme to be unattractive. The proportion decreased to 42% and 37% respectively for those of non-degree post-secondary education and those of secondary education or below.
Young residents in Hong Kong, who hold bachelor degrees or above awarded by local or overseas tertiary institutions from 2019 to 2021, are eligible for the Scheme. The survey found that 77% of the respondents think that the educational requirements should be relaxed. In addition, 35% of the respondents suggested that the Scheme should be extended to those with a non-degree post-secondary education, and 42% suggested that there should be no restrictions on the types of academic qualifications needed for the Scheme.
For the criterion on the years of graduation, 82% of the respondents suggested it should be relaxed. In addition, 38% of the respondents suggested extending the graduation period to include the past five years, and 44% suggested that no such restriction should be imposed.
Respondents are less willing to live in the GBA
The survey assessed respondents' willingness to engage in different types of economic activities in the GBA with a "willingness score" on a scale of 1 (extremely unwilling) to 7 (extremely willing). These activities include (1) work visits or internships, (2) frequent business trips, (3) working, (4) starting a business, (5) working and residing, and (6) starting a business and residing in the GBA. Survey results found that respondents are more willing to engage in work visits or internships (with a mean willingness score of 3.7) and start a business (with a mean willingness score of 3.5) in the GBA.
However, it should be noted that respondents are less willing to engage in economic activities that involve living in the GBA. The mean willingness scores for working and residing and for starting a business and residing in the GBA were around 3.1 for both, which is the joint lowest score among all the types of economic activities.
Career opportunities and funding support as key pull factors
The research team also looked into the perceived opportunities and challenges that influence the respondents' decision to work in the GBA. The analysis showed that respondents, who perceived the career development opportunities and funding support for starting a business or employment to be more attractive, are more willing to engage in various economic activities in the GBA. In addition, the attractiveness of tax preferential treatments and the quality of life in the GBA, such as more living space and a slower pace of life, was found to have a positive impact on respondents' willingness to live in the GBA while working or starting a business there.
However, adapting to the work culture in the GBA was found to be the main challenge that significantly influenced respondents' willingness to engage in work visits or internships, as well as frequent business trips. In addition, it also affected their decision to live in the GBA while working or starting a business there. It was also shown that respondents, who perceived the adaptation process to the policies and regulations to be more difficult, are less willing to go on frequent business trips, or start a business and live in the GBA.
"The survey results show that from the perspective of young adults in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme has the potential to allow them to leverage the opportunities for career development. We recommend that the Government revisit the Scheme's eligibility criteria, including the requirements around educational qualifications and years of graduation, so that more young adults can participate in the Scheme," said Dr Jiang Jin.
"To encourage more young adults to pursue their careers in the GBA, the Government should take into account their aspirations and concerns. For instance, considering that young adults may have reservations about residing in GBA cities, the Government should facilitate young adults' engagement in different types of economic activities in the GBA, especially short-term activities that don't require them to reside on the Mainland. This may help to gradually relax their reservations about residing in the GBA.
"The Government should also take the lead to establish a one-stop platform for young adults to connect them with the right resources and advisory services, as this will make it easier for them to search for a job in the GBA. It will be an important tool to facilitate their exploration of relevant career opportunities. The platform should also offer advice on how they can adapt to the local working and living environment in the GBA," added Dr Jiang.
