ENG-2004 — Page 194

160 | Employment

Genuine business people and entrepreneurs are welcome to establish a presence. in Hong Kong, bringing with them capital and expertise. Qualified professionals, technical staff, administrators and managerial personnel are also admitted with the minimum formalities. During the year, 19 155 foreign professionals and people with technical, administrative or managerial skills from more than 100 countries/territories were admitted for employment.

Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals

The Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals was implemented in 2003, replacing the Admission of Talents Scheme and the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme. The scheme aligns the conditions for admitting Mainland people for employment with those applicable to foreigners. It aims at attracting talented people and professionals to work in Hong Kong to meet local manpower needs and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in the globalised market. (Further details of this scheme are given in Chapter 20).

Admission of Mainland Students Graduated from University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded Institutions in Hong Kong

Mainland students who have graduated from UGC-funded institutions since 1990 may be admitted for employment, provided that they possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong and are employed with a remuneration broadly commensurate with the market level. The objective of this arrangement is to attract outstanding Mainland students who have completed full-time studies at the bachelor degree level or above to re-enter Hong Kong for employment after graduation to increase the territory's competitiveness in the knowledge-based global economy.

Supplementary Labour Scheme

The Supplementary Labour Scheme is operated for the importation of workers to fill vacancies at the technician level or below. The Government's policy on importation of labour is based on two cardinal principles:

local workers must be given priority in filling job vacancies available in the job market; and

employers who are genuinely unable to recruit local workers to fill their job vacancies should be allowed to import workers.

All applications under the scheme are considered on a case-by-case basis. To ensure priority of employment for local workers, each application for imported workers has to pass three tests before it is submitted to the Labour Advisory Board for consideration and to the Government for a decision. These tests are: advertising in newspapers, job-matching by the Labour Department for four weeks, and a tailor- made retraining course for workers, if appropriate. In all, 713 visas/entry permits were issued during the year and a cumulative total of 11 037 visa/entry permit applications have been approved by year-end.