Hong Kong’s labour minister has dismissed calls to review the city’s immigration scheme for non-local graduates or to lower thresholds for talent schemes, despite a sharp decline in entry-level roles, arguing that the workforce is shrinking and the number of local degree holders is insufficient to meet demand.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also said the Employees Retraining Board, which will be rebranded as “Upskill Hong Kong” later this year, could adopt a new focus to help highly qualified young people “transform” and find jobs.

He told the legislature on Wednesday that the number of full-time vacancies suitable for university graduates fell from about 80,000 in 2022 to around 31,000 in 2025, a drop of 61 per cent.

“Among them, roles more affected by automation technology, such as administration and information technology and programming, recorded more pronounced drops of nearly 90 per cent and 80 per cent respectively,” he said.

“The widespread application of AI has begun to have impact on the demand for entry-level positions … In fact, all major global economies are facing similar structural challenge amid the popularisation of AI.”

He cited a survey by the International Data Corporation suggesting that more than 60 per cent of surveyed enterprises worldwide indicated they would reduce hiring for entry-level positions within the next three years due to AI automation technologies.

In February, the government announced in its annual budget that it would rebrand the Employees Retraining Board as Upskill Hong Kong later this year, offering skills-based training courses, including in AI applications, to enhance the competitiveness of the local workforce.