Hong Kong youngsters shy away from transport jobs, with ferries facing severe manpower problems
Those in the industry say efforts to bring in new staff falter on low wages and unsocial working hours
Hong Kong’s public transport sector is facing a manpower shortage, with the city’s passenger ferries being the hardest hit as working conditions become increasingly unattractive to youngsters.
Bearing the brunt of the manpower crisis, Star Ferry is facing an ageing workforce due to an inability to retain young recruits for more than a few months. The average age of a sailor is now 54 – and 58 for a coxswain.
Despite a sharp 11 per cent wage increase this year, with sailors earning up to HK$13,000 a month and coxswains HK$25,000, about 15 per cent of staff jump ship every year for less strenuous jobs with similar salaries, such as welders and security guards.
In the next five years, 25 per cent of the 120 Star Ferry staff will reach retirement age.
The entire passenger ferry sector faces a manpower shortage of about 50 per cent in five years, from coxswain to sailor. In all, there will be at least 330 vacancies.
Even transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung admits manpower supply for the shipping sector is a problem. “Within the shipping industry and Marine Department there is a shortage of labour ,” Cheung told lawmakers.
