The “Two Sessions” have recently concluded successfully, and the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan has set out a clear path for the development of Hong Kong and Macao. To meet the country’s expectations for Macao, it is essential to build a young talent development system aligned with the industrial needs of the new era. I therefore put forward three recommendations:
Focus on improving basic education and digital upgrading, in order to develop key skills for the future. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are profoundly reshaping the industrial structure, while also changing the profile of knowledge and skills required of future professionals.
It is recommended that the Macao SAR Government promote technological capacity-building in basic education by advancing a smart education model based on “human teacher + machine teacher” cooperation, integrating project-based learning, problem-based learning and service learning into daily teaching, in order to strengthen global competencies and innovation.
At the same time, making use of the development of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, efforts should be made to establish joint laboratories and university-industry-research cooperation platforms between leading mainland Chinese universities and scientific institutions and Macao institutions. Scientific outreach activities and hands-on experiences in frontier disciplines should also be extended to schools, encouraging young people to explore strategic fields from an early stage.
Align career planning with the “1+4” industries by creating a new model of training that integrates industry and education. As the “1+4” strategy for appropriate economic diversification advances, demand for talent is becoming more diversified, specialised and interdisciplinary. It is recommended that studies on sector-specific talent needs be resumed in order to understand trends and skills requirements, and on that basis strengthen career planning education in non-tertiary education, helping young people understand the prospects of emerging industries.
At the same time, integration between higher education and the science and technology innovation industry should be deepened, by identifying promising projects through university competitions and supporting incubation through future government guidance funds. Technological entrepreneurship should be incorporated into university training so as to promote the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, ensuring better alignment between talent supply and industrial demand.
Optimise the Continuing Education Development Plan by strengthening professional development and qualification recognition mechanisms. In the face of the rapid growth of new industries and the expansion of professional boundaries, workers need to continuously update their knowledge and skills, and the portability of qualifications directly affects mobility and opportunities for cross-regional development.
Accordingly, given that the fifth phase of the Continuing Education Development Plan is about to end, it is recommended that the content of the scheme be comprehensively optimised and, with a focus on the professional development of talent in the “1+4” industries, that a tiered and categorised training system be created, with additional subsidies and advanced support.
It is also recommended that more professions across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao achieve mutual recognition of qualifications, and that the professional certification system for emerging sectors in Macao be improved by optimising the structure and levels of the existing framework. This would create a solid institutional foundation for both “going out” and “bringing in”, helping Macao become a hub for the concentration of high-level international talent and better serve the national strategy of high-standard opening up.
