Many graduates plan to get experience first before pursuing opportunities in the fiercely contested Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area job market. Gang Wen reports from Hong Kong.

Li Pan, a Shandong province student studying fine arts at City University of Hong Kong, searches for jobs online in the library at City University of Hong Kong on the first day of 2021. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Recent university graduates are opting to stay in Hong Kong for work as a safer choice in the pandemic-ravaged job market, reversing earlier plans to look for opportunities on the Chinese mainland.

Li Pan, a Shandong province student studying fine arts at City University of Hong Kong, chose to stay in Hong Kong after finishing a two-year master’s degree program. All of her 12 classmates decided to return to the mainland.

Li has gained work experience during her time as an intern at a media company in Hong Kong since May. She participated in marketing campaigns for the company’s clients, which include financial services firms.

Noting that many of her classmates have been unable to get a job for months after they returned to the Chinese mainland, Li said the internship gave her a head start in her job search.

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Li Pan revisits the media company in Hong Kong where she worked as an intern from May to December 2020. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

She is looking for a full-time job in Hong Kong, optimistic about starting her career here. She found that the competition in Hong Kong’s job market is not as stiff as it is on the mainland. Her plan is to accumulate experience first and then pursue opportunities in a bigger market such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Wilson Zheng has similar considerations. The recent graduate, who majored in information technology at Hong Kong Baptist University, has secured a job in the city.

Zheng, who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Guangdong province, said he is interested in finding information-technology-related work in Guangdong, which has larger and more-competitive companies. But competition in the job market is fierce, and the requirements are high.

Zheng believes that being a fresh graduate with little practical experience leaves him at a big disadvantage. That’s why he prefers to work in Hong Kong at first while keeping his eyes open for future opportunities.

Cheng Chak-kwong, who has a doctorate in biomedical sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, also is eyeing job opportunities in the mainland in the long term, but he chose to start his career in Hong Kong.

Cheng Chak-kwong (second left) passes his thesis for his doctorate degree in 2020 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Cheng considered moving to Shenzhen, but was afraid that as a fresh graduate, he would not stand out amid the cutthroat competition.

The mainland, with hefty spending in research and development in biomedical science and with its rich experience in the field, is attractive to him. In comparison, labs in Hong Kong usually run with more-modest R&D budgets, but they have their appeal, too. Many labs have truly international teams, allowing researchers to benefit from the diversity of their respective backgrounds.

“In biomedical science, employers on the mainland require rich clinical experience, which I lack. But I am good at researching,” Cheng said, explaining why he decided to find work in Hong Kong first to have more time to plan for his career.

Cheng Chak-kwong (third left) and his team members pose for a group photo at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2020. They hope to develop a telediagnosis application software that enables online medical consultations. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Easier access

Cheng’s short-term goal is to develop a telediagnosis software application that will enable online medical consultations. He hopes to find potential funders for this project, possibly from the Hong Kong Science Park. If things go well, he will delve into the wider market in the Bay Area and run his own business.

With deepened exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland, most universities in Hong Kong have set up a campus in Guangdong or are in talks to do so. This gives rise to more exposure for Hong Kong students to get first-hand experience with school life and the job market on the mainland.

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In recent years, mainland authorities have introduced many measures that make it easier for Hong Kong and Macao residents to study, work and live there. Guangdong in particular has rolled out a series of such policies and has been one of the favorite destinations for those from Hong Kong who choose to move across the boundary.

The Hong Kong government also encourages local young people to broaden their horizons through internships, exchange programs, study and work in the mainland and other parts of the world.

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In her Policy Address in late November, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government will introduce a youth employment program. The government will subsidize enterprises with operations both in Hong Kong and mainland cities of the Bay Area with the goal of providing 2,000 IT-related positions for young people.

Amanda Lou, a human resources manager at an IT firm in Shenzhen, anticipates the development momentum of the Greater Bay Area will attract more Hong Kong talent to Guangdong.

Lou’s firm does not have Hong Kong employees. She agrees that competition in the job market has increased. Employers value experience and capabilities even more. She said the demand for R&D professionals has remained stable compared with last year, but the demand for clerical and technical positions has declined.

But she believes that in the future, she will receive applications from job-seekers in Hong Kong. And if they are competent, she will be keen to meet them, she added.

Contact the writer at gangwen@chinadaily.com.cn