Caleb Hon says employment support, on-the-job training, funding and incubation services, and a housing ladder all offer renewed hope
For young people in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the most immediate concerns are practical: Where will the next generation of jobs come from? How can an innovative idea become a viable business? Will the skills learned today remain relevant tomorrow? These questions are increasingly pressing as artificial intelligence transforms the labor market, while geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and protectionism create uncertainty for a highly externally-oriented economy. Like students facing an important examination, uncertainty does not disappear and the syllabus remains challenging. What makes a difference is a clear study plan, a realistic timetable and steady progress towards a defined goal. Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan acknowledges the changing environment and addresses issues concerning young people’s education, employment, entrepreneurship and home ownership, while monitoring the impact of technology on the labor market. A coherent five-year strategy is the way forward; it can turn uncertainty into preparation, and preparation into opportunity.
The significance of the plan lies in its medium- to long-term approach. Five years may span a young person’s entire transition from education to employment, professional practice or entrepreneurship. By spelling out “directions of development, mission targets, strategic priorities as well as implementation road maps”, the plan can help educational institutions, employers and young people prepare for future needs with greater confidence. Its implementation framework, “Five-year plan leads, Policy Address implements, Budget supports, annual report gives accounts”, also links long-term objectives with annual policies and public resources, supported by dynamic monitoring, mid-term assessment and final reporting.
Professional services provide one of the clearest examples of the new pathways being opened. Taking the legal industry as a case in point, the plan seeks to deepen Hong Kong’s status as an “international legal and dispute resolution services center”, drawing on its distinctive strengths as a Chinese-English bilingual common-law jurisdiction. It supports the Judiciary of the HKSAR in advancing the establishment of the International Commercial Court, calls for arbitration law reform, and promotes arbitration in specialized fields such as maritime affairs, intellectual property and sport. It also calls for reform of the mediation regulatory system and supports the International Organization for Mediation in furthering its role, with the aim of developing Hong Kong into a “global capital of mediation”.
These developments should be especially encouraging to young practitioners and law students. The plan will enhance and expand the functions of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy, which serves as a platform for training, exchanges and the pooling of high-caliber legal talent from around the country and the international community, particularly Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner economies. At the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area level, the plan encourages Hong Kong legal talent to take the Greater Bay Area Legal Professional Examination and promotes complementary arbitration regimes, arbitration and mediation standards, and possible model arbitration rules. The Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen and Lau Fau Shan New Development Areas will also prioritize high-end professional services, expressly including finance, insurance, wealth and risk management, legal, mediation, arbitration and accounting services.
The resulting opportunities extend well beyond conventional litigation. Young professionals may increasingly work in cross-border transactions, dispute prevention, specialist arbitration, mediation, regulatory compliance and the provision of legal services for Chinese mainland enterprises going global. Lawyers will also be needed in emerging fields such as AI governance, digital assets, intellectual property, carbon markets, medical products and low-altitude economic activities. In this sense, the plan places professional services within a much wider ecosystem supporting finance, trade, innovation, maritime activities and international cooperation.
Education is the foundation that will enable young people to participate in professional developments. The plan calls for a “future-ready education system”, including stronger AI literacy and the progressive integration of AI into learning, teaching and assessment. Alongside science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education, it emphasizes the responsible use of technology, biliterate and trilingual capabilities, cross-cultural exchange and a global perspective. Post-secondary education will also be expanded through basic and emerging disciplines, interdisciplinary studies, and collaboration with mainland and overseas academic and research institutions.
The Northern Metropolis University Town gives physical form to the “integrated development of education, technology and talent”. It will bring together talent cultivation, scientific research, the transformation of research outcomes and industry development, supported by joint programs, faculties and laboratories with renowned mainland and overseas institutions. This “industry-academia-research” model, with the support of government and investors, can shorten the distance between study and application, allowing young people to move more readily from the classroom or laboratory into employment and entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the “Study in Hong Kong” brand can attract high-quality students to pursue their studies or careers here, enriching Hong Kong’s international learning and talent environment.
Green transformation represents another broad field of opportunity. The plan’s vision of a “green and livable city” encompasses zero-carbon energy, energy-efficient buildings, green transport, hydrogen development, waste-to-resources transformation, ecological protection and a carbon trading hub. Importantly, these are not opportunities only for environmental scientists and engineers. Green and sustainable finance, transition finance, disclosure frameworks, carbon markets and international certification will also require expertise in law, accounting, compliance, standards and project management.
The transformation of established industries will widen this scope further. The development of a smart and green port, green maritime fuel bunkering and trading, sustainable aviation fuel, a circular economy and green BRI cooperation can generate opportunities across technology, logistics, financing, insurance, certification and international trade. Green development should therefore not be regarded as a single profession; it is becoming a new dimension of almost every profession. Young people will be not only the long-term beneficiaries of the low-carbon transition, but also the professionals responsible for implementing it.
The plan also broadens the geographical horizons available to young people. It proposes making the Youth Development Summit a flagship event for “international youth exchange and collaboration”, while expanding exchanges, internships and practical experiences. The Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme and the Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Greater Bay Area will facilitate employment, internship and entrepreneurship, while Qianhai and Nansha provide additional platforms for professional practice and business development. These measures can help young people develop a distinctive dual perspective, backed by the motherland and connected to the world.
Beyond these principal areas, the opportunity map is deliberately diverse. AI and robotics, life and health technology, microelectronics, advanced manufacturing, new energy and future industries can create new technological and research careers. Fintech, digital finance, wealth and risk management, intellectual-property financing and high-value-added supply-chain services can renew Hong Kong’s traditional strengths. Cultural and creative industries, sports, tourism, healthcare innovation, social services and public governance offer further avenues for young people with different abilities and aspirations. Enhanced employment support, on-the-job training, funding and incubation services, and a housing ladder intended to promote youth home ownership, can help make these opportunities more accessible.
A plan alone cannot guarantee a result, just as a revision timetable cannot by itself secure a good grade. But without a timetable, it is much harder to know what to prioritize, how to use limited time and whether progress is being made. The five-year plan offers a framework to help Hong Kong and its young people navigate change with clearer direction.
The author is a youth ambassador for the Hong Kong Association for External Friendship.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
