How can HK tackle the challenge of AI talent shortage?

With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), global AI adoption and investment are soaring. According to insights from Deloitte's State of AI in the Enterprise, second edition survey, 37% of global organisations have deployed AI solutions in 2020, up 270% from 2016. A PwC's report titled PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study also said AI could contribute up to US$15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030.

While in Hong Kong, over one-third of enterprises are or will be using AI, with 32% of them already applying the technology at multiple levels, of which 58% apply the tech in marketing, according to a study conducted by Hong Kong Productivity Council New Industrialisation. 

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The strong demand for AI talent is clear, but it is not always easy to hire new, AI-ready talent. In fact, 49% of Hong Kong companies said they are having difficulties recruiting, and some even reduced their hires of technical talent in Hong Kong, said the survey.  

77% of companies reasoned that it is due to Hong Kong’s high operating costs, and 41% expressed that Hong Kong lacks relevant technical talent. 

Industries facing challenge in recruiting AI talent 

In fact, some industries in Hong Kong are facing more challenges in hiring AI talent including marketing, manufacturing, banking finance, medical and healthcare industries, according to Andy Chung, managing director, GroupM Nexus Media Solutions. 

“For marketing, AI is increasingly being used for creative production, campaign optimisations, inventory management and operational tasks. The rapid growth of eCommerce in Hong Kong has led to an increased demand for AI talent in this sector,” he added. 

As a global financial hub, Hong Kong's banking finance sector is also increasingly adopting AI technologies for tasks such as customer service, risk & investment analysis and especially fraud detection, he said. 

Meanwhile, Bernard Fung, managing director, head of North APAC, LoopMe said any industries that treat technical talent as a supporting function rather than a company focus may find tech recruitment difficult.   

“Since the beginning of the century, Hong Kong’s talent focus has been on business functions, particularly sales and marketing[…] As a result, technical roles in Hong Kong have mainly been supporting functions rather than research and development, thus technical roles haven’t traditionally been the best paid,” he added. 

What more can be done? 

To address the shortage of AI technical talent in Hong Kong, the government has introduced initiatives to lure overseas AI talent to the city, whereas some local universities such as The University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, are already providing degree or master degree courses related to AI, to cultivate and nurture young AI talent.  

Instead of relocating non-local AI tech employees to HK, GroupM Nexus’ Chung said the focus should be developing or supporting Hong Kong’s talent pool, “The Hong Kong government should promote or foster AI development or education more to support the whole industry such as funding, mentorship and networking opportunities,” he said. 

“It is rather counter-intuitive to use public funds to support the industry, universities, associations for talent development, but on the other hand to relocate non-local AI talents to Hong Kong to compete with our own talent pool,” he added. 

To this end, strategic investments in upskilling initiatives are crucial. These could manifest as government-subsidised programmes, fiscal incentives for businesses that actively engage in employee development, and the cultivation of robust public-private partnerships aimed at creating highly specialised training avenues, said Lars Maehler, head of Digitas Hong Kong. 

Moreover, nurturing an ecosystem that is conducive to start-up growth can serve as an invaluable incubator for technical acumen, simultaneously driving innovation and offering a fertile learning environment for burgeoning talent, he added. 

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