Page 90 - 2024 Special Report on the State of Business in South China

As discussed earlier, digital economy has
redefined the demand for talent. The technological
transformation of traditional industries and the
growth of emerging industries have led to a
surge for digital talent. For example, a proposal
Hong Kong Industry 4.0 released in July 202118
suggested that the issues of deindustrialization
and excessive uniformity of the city’s industrial
structure should be addressed. However, there
is a loss of talent in Hong Kong’s engineering
sector19, leading to a growing urgency in
boosting the talent supply in emerging industries
such as smart manufacturing. Furthermore,
technological advancements have accelerated
the development of new application scenarios
and innovations in business models. Therefore,
professionals in core technologies are critical
for the economy. A survey has shown that20
Shenzhen’s demand for artificial intelligence
generated content (AIGC) talent is ranked high
in the nation. With the rapid development
of technology and tightening of government
regulations, data compliance professionals are
much sought after by the market.
Policy support on cross-boundary talent flow
Shenzhen and Hong Kong play an important
role in activating the talent market and
enhancing talent attraction. The following
table presents a general overview of some of
Shenzhen and Hong Kong’s talent policies21. The
18 Holden Chow releases Hong Kong Indus-
tries 4.0 - A Proposal to Launch Re-industrialisation, Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress
of Hong Kong Website, https://www.dab. org.hk/
post/%E5%91%A8%E6%B5%A9%E9%E7%99%BC%E8%
A1%A8%E3%80%8C%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%B7
%A5%E6%A5%AD4-0-%E5%86%8D%E5%B7%A5%E6%A
5%AD%E5%8C%96%E5%95%9F%E5%8B%95%E5%BB%
BA%E8%AD%B0%E6%9B%B8%E3%80%8D, 13 July 2021
19 Hong Kong in Figures 2021-2023, Census and
Statistics Department of the Government of the HK-
SAR, https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/sc/EIndexbySubject.
html?scode=460&pcode=B1010006
20 AIGC Talent and Job Search Insights Q1 2023,
lagou.com; AIGC Talent Trend Report 2023, maimai.cn;
AIGC Talent Trend Insights 2023, liepin.com; EY Analy- 24 http://www.sznews.com/news/content/
sis
21 geographical_label_string=%E7%9C%81%E7%B
A%A7&policy_label_string=all&year=all&page=7; 广东省人
民政府官网，
https://sqzc.gd.gov.cn/rdzt/yga/gdzc/index.html; 香港特区
政府官网，入境事务处，
https://www.immd.gov.hk/hks/services/index.
90
two cities will capitalize on the opportunities
in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern
Service Industry Cooperation Zone and join
hands in talent attraction, mutual recognition
of credentials and training, with an emphasis
on the following aspects.
• Improvements in the mechanisms for talent
retention, talent attraction and talent servicing
Both Shenzhen and Hong Kong have rolled
out talent attraction policies to address talent
shortages, such as the talent residency pass. In
this effort, the 30 financial measures of Qianhai22
put an emphasis on luring high-end financial
talent; the Guangdong Province set up a cross-
boundary office of the Human Resources and
Social Security Department of Guangdong
Province in Hong Kong and the Qianhai e-Services
Hong Kong Macau Station. These are talent
programs that aim to attract talent expeditiously.
Currently, there are 85,000 residents of Hong
Kong and Macau who are registered employees
in Guangdong23, and over 40,000 residents of
Hong Kong and Macau participating in social
security in Shenzhen24.
• Recognition of credentials: Promote the
joint verification of professional qualifications in
different industries and academic attainment,
and improve the mechanisms for qualification
assessment and verification
After the promulgation of the Outline
Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area25, Shenzhen and
Hong Kong have sped up the implementation of
policies for the mutual recognition of talent, such
as the release of the List of Recognized Overseas
html#tab_b_1; 澳门特别行政区政府官网，
https://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/2023/22/lei07_cn.asp; 安永分析
22 “关于贯彻落实金融支持前海深港现代服务业
合作区全面深化改革开放意见的实施方案”，深圳政府
网，http://www.sz.gov.cn/gkmlpt/con-tent/10/10703/
post_10703647.html#20044, 2023年7月10日
23 http://www.news.cn/politics/2023-
07/01/c_1129726831.htm
mb/2023-05/04/content_30210684.htm
25 Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-
Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, www.gov.cn, 18
February 2019