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Opinion | Ease Hong Kong’s brain drain by re-educating and integrating elderly into workforce

  • Sustaining Hong Kong’s workforce and economic engine requires re-evaluating our traditional approach to retirement and attitude towards retirees
  • Empowering retirees and older workers, and bolstering their skills, will help Hong Kong seize the opportunities created by longer life expectancy

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Elderly men gather in a public area in Choi Wan Estate, Wong Tai Sin District, on June 20. Photo: Edmond So
Brain drain is an issue for Hong Kong. Former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said earlier this year the problem was “unarguable” amid the city’s stringent Covid-19 restrictions and the ripple effects from the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
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Hong Kong lost an estimated 93,000 residents in 2020 and another 23,000 last year. Early reports suggest departures will continue at pace this year as businesses consider leaving the city.
Many departing families are taking their children abroad, creating a surge in school vacancies. More than 30,000 school-age children have left Hong Kong, representing close to a 4 per cent decrease in pupils at kindergartens, primary and secondary schools.

Policies need to be implemented to train and retain local talent, as well as attract skilled immigrants, for Hong Kong to ensure the long-term success of its workforce. However, these policies must be complemented with a more comprehensive strategy for the elderly.

At some point, Hong Kong will not have enough young people to support its dependent older population. This is evident in census figures that show the trend of a shrinking population below the age of 59 while the population aged 60 and above is growing.
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Sustaining Hong Kong’s workforce and economic engine requires re-evaluating our traditional approach to retirement. The current approach is not financially or economically viable in the long term.

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