The “Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme” (hereafter the Scheme) was launched by the Government in early 2021. It aims to encourage enterprises with operations in both Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (hereafter the GBA) to recruit and deploy local university/ tertiary institution graduates to work in the Mainland cities of the GBA. As of mid-2022, most employees under the Scheme have been working for about nine months. 

In order to assess the effectiveness of the Scheme and offer policy recommendations to the Government, MWYO and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (hereafter, HKGCC) have launched a longitudinal research study in four phases. Online surveys were conducted from September to October 2021 for Phase 1, and from March to April 2022 for Phase 2. HKGCC distributed the questionnaire to the employees through its members for Phase 2. This report focuses on the employees’ changes in perception and attitude towards the Scheme and the Mainland cities of the GBA, in order to assess the Scheme’s effectiveness.

We received 187 valid responses from the employees for Phase 2. Among those who completed the Phase 2 questionnaire, 123 of them had also done so in Phase 1, which amounts to 88% of the total number of respondents in Phase 1. 

Phase 2 Report

Key Research Findings:

1. Overall, employees responded favourably to the Scheme in both Phase 1 and Phase 2.
    
2. In Phase 2, the vast majority (70%) of respondents considered their career development plans in the GBA to be clear, down by 13 percentage points from 83% in Phase 1
    
3. The proportion of employees who were willing to work in the GBA for more than two years increased by five percentage points to 44%.
    
4. Most employees expected the Scheme to help them further their careers (88%), gain more work experience (69%) or expand their network (58%). The proportion of respondents who reported that the Scheme could meet nearly all their expectations decreased by 11 percentage points from 65% in Phase 1 to 54% in Phase 2.
    
5. Most employees were satisfied with their performance at their current company, increasing from 78% in Phase 1 to 84% in Phase 2.
    
6. Employees generally developed a deeper understanding of various aspects of life in the Mainland. Comparing the two phases, the proportion of employees who understood Mainland companies’ norms and organisational culture increased significantly by 23 percentage points.
    
7. Around half of the employees lacked an understanding of the tax payment requirements and the social security system. The proportion of employees who had knowledge in these areas increased marginally, from around 45% in Phase 1 to around 50% in Phase 2. 
    
8. In Phase 2, 73% of employees stated that they often or sometimes socialised with their Mainland friends, up from 65% in Phase 1.