Pedestrians, many of them wearing face masks, use a crossing in Central, Hong Kong, on Feb 28. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s labor and welfare secretary said on Saturday that the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) has been shown to appeal greatly to individuals with overseas educational experience and qualifications.

The talent scheme applicants come from a diverse range of backgrounds, Chris Sun said while responding to questions from media on the scheme after speaking on a radio program.

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“Set aside for the moment their residency; if you look at where all applicants under the TTPS were upon applying (to the scheme), around 20 percent of them were staying overseas when they submitted their applications,” he said.

When these people come into Hong Kong, what we need to do first of all, of course, is to provide facilitation so they can stay here.

Chris Sun, Secretary for Labor and Welfare, HKSAR

“In particular, if we look at Category C applicants under the TTPS, those who are either fresh graduates or with less than three years of work experience, around 40 percent were staying overseas when they made their applications.”

This is by itself a clear indication of the attraction of the TTPS to those with overseas education experience and qualifications, added Sun.

He emphasized that when successful applicants come to Hong Kong, the special administrative region government assists them in getting settled.

“This includes looking for accommodation, and if they have children, taking care of their education needs,” he said. 

Underscoring that the most important thing is to help them find a job, the labor chief said, “On that respect, we have recently collaborated with the insurance sector in holding an online job matching forum which proved to be a success. The response was overwhelming.”

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Through that event, the authorities have successfully found jobs for quite a number of people coming to Hong Kong under the scheme, he added.