IT Workforce

Overview

    After WWII, the Hong Kong Government has devoted significant resources on education. The Government has constantly revised its education policy to adapt to the change of the city's economic needs. A career in IT will unlikely gain any respectability in Hong Kong. However, the current economic downturn may encourage students to continue their studies in the IT area. As a result of its resilient economy, Hong Kong has not experienced brain drain that cripples its economic growth.

    Between 2001 and 2002, approved public spending on education represented 19% of the total public expenditure, or totaled USD 55.3 billion. In Hong Kong, university graduates represented 16% of population in 2001. (34) In comparison with China, Hong Kong historically puts significant emphasis on the English language education. The following charts showcase the fruit of the English language education in Hong Kong:

Average Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Score between 2000 and 2001
1 Singapore 253
2 Philippines 233
3 Malaysia 224
4 China 211
5 Indonesia 207
5 Vietnam 207
7 Hong Kong 206
7 Myanmar 206
9 South Korea 202
10 Laos 201
11 Cambodia 199
12 Thailand 194
13 Taiwan 193
14 Japan 183
Source: Educational Testing Service

Percentage of students receiving grade "C" or above in selected HKCEE subjects
Subject
School Candidates
All Candidates
English Language (Syllabus B) 
9.6%
8.0%
Chinese Language
18.2%
14.6%
Mathematics
28.2%
24.5%
Source: Institute of International Education
HKCEE English Language Exam in TOEFL Equivalencies
Candidates with Syllabus B Grade 
Paper-Based TOEFL Mean Score
Computer-Based TOEFL Mean Score
A
595
243-247
B
565
223-227
C
542
207
D
505
177-180
E
455
133-137
Borderline C
542
207
Borderline E
427
113
Source: Institute of International Education

    TOEFL ranking represents a good reference to simultaneously measure the English literacy of several non-English-speaking countries. There are several reasons to explain Hong Kong's TOEFL ranking. First of all, nine-year free and compulsory education has been in place in Hong Kong for decades. Meanwhile, more students continue higher education in Hong Kong than in China. As a result of Hong Kong's historical emphasis on English, more students in Hong Kong take TOEFL than their counterparts in China. Test takers in China represent a more selective specimen of their countries than the test takers in Hong Kong do. Consequently, Hong Kong maintains a lower TOEFL ranking than China does.

    At present, Hong Kong has over 9000 graduates at degree and sub-degree level from IT and related disciplines locally on an annual basis, representing more than 25% of annual output. Furthermore, there were more than 13100 students leaving Hong Kong for overseas studies in United States, Canada and Australia alone in 2000 and a substantial proportion enrolling in Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics related subjects. In a word, Hong Kong can actually produce as many as 15000 students in IT related fields annually. (35)

Hong Kong Students Leaving for Overseas Studies
1997
1998
1999
2000
United States
4426
4106
4433
5392
Canada
1962
2121
2429
2198
United Kingdom
n/r
n/r
n/r
n/r
Australia
3542
3467
4397
5534
Source: Hong Kong, 2000, Hong Kong Education Dept.

Fields of Study of Hong Kong Students
Field of Study
Undergraduate
Graduate
Business
40.8%
22.3%
Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics
23.1%
29%
Fine Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities 
13.5%
20.5%
Physical, Life, and Health Sciences
6.8%
15.6%
Other 
8.7%
11.1%
Undeclared
6.9%
2.4%
Source: Open Doors, 1996-1997, Institute of International Education

    In order to generate a constant supply of IT personnel, the Hong Kong Government has launched the 5-year strategy (1998-99 to 2002-03) to develop IT in education in schools with the following initiatives:
-To improve the IT curricula and learning environment in schools.
-To provide adequate IT facilities including network facilities for teachers and students to access and share information.
-To continue to provide recurrent grants to all public sector primary, secondary and special schools for Internet access.
-To equip schools with more multi-media facilities to enhance teaching and learning through the use of IT.
-To continue to give technical and training support for schools and teachers.
-To collaborate with the IT industry to provide professional IT training to students at secondary level so that students can gain early exposure to the use of IT.
-To explore the provision of IT training to those secondary school leavers who may wish to pursue an early career in the IT field.
-To continue to run an IT assistant training course to provide more supply at junior IT assistant level to sustain the development of IT in Hong Kong.
-To establish an IT Skills Assessment Center and work together with the IT profession to provide for accreditation of IT skills. (36)

    Currently, there are over 500 telecom-related establishments in Hong Kong providing employment for 30,000 people. The figure approximately translates into 4.29 software/ ICT professionals per 1000 people in Hong Kong. Brain drain will unlikely spoil Hong Kong's IT future due to several factors. In addition to the extensive overhaul of the local education system to increase local supply, Hong Kong can attract IT personnel from China. (37) Moreover, China's accession to the WTO and the continued phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy will only attract IT personnel from the US back to the Greater China. In reality, a reverse brain drain is currently taking place due to the slow down of the US economy.

Last Chapter

Next: IT Geographics
 

Harrison Chang
The Landscape of IT in Hong Kong
Information Technology Landscape in Nations
Kogod School of Business, American University