In this file photo dated Feb 26, 2022, people work at the construction site of Tsing Yi mobile cabin hospital in Hong Kong. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Hong Kong is facing a shortage of over 3,000 engineers in the construction industry, and the city’s annual construction volume is expected to reach HK$240 billion ($30.7 billion) to HK$375 billion in the next 10 years, a prominent local engineering institution estimated.

Announcing the analysis at a Tuesday media briefing, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) vowed it would introduce various programs to nurture young engineering professionals in the city.

Barry Lee Chi-hong, chairman of HKIE, said the institution will strengthen collaboration with more leading enterprises in the field to nurture engineering talents. It has launched the Scheme “A” Graduate Training program for engineering graduates to intern at enterprises. Participating companies in the initial phase include China Mobile Hong Kong, Huawei, and Hong Kong Broadband Network.

Barry Lee Chi-hong, chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said the institution will strengthen collaboration with more leading enterprises in the field to nurture engineering talents. It has launched the Scheme “A” Graduate Training program for engineering graduates to intern at enterprises

This year, the institution will launch more professional qualifications covering emerging technologies like Building Information Modeling, Environmental Impact Assessment, and stage engineering.

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It also aims to expand the mutual recognition of professional qualifications to encompass more engineering fields. As of now, it has achieved 23 mutual recognition agreements with six countries and regions, along with two mutual recognition arrangements with the Chinese mainland.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced this year that it aimed to import workers to the city to ease severe manpower shortages in the construction, aviation and transport industries. For example, the Immigration Department has expanded its Technology Talent Admission Scheme to provide a fast-track arrangement for eligible companies to admit non-local talent to undertake research and development work in Hong Kong.

The institution is also supporting the Hong Kong government’s efforts to strengthen STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) education in schools. By arranging for engineers to provide STEAM activities at campuses, students' understanding of the links between engineering and innovation and technology can be promoted, and their motivation to learn in related courses will be enhanced.

The HKIE will also organize more exchange activities for young engineers to enhance their innovation and technology capabilities and further consolidate Hong Kong as a regional expertise exchange center.

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As part of these efforts, Lee will lead a group of 40 engineers under the age of 35 to embark on an exchange trip to Guangzhou on Aug 12.

Mike Wong contributed to the story