Forum talks about GBA youth policy

The 2019 Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Forum was held last week to discuss matters relating to youth and human resources’ policies in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The forum was organized by the Macao Creative Intelligence Development and Research Association at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

The forum discussed exchanges and development strategies for urban agglomerations, youth exchange mechanisms, human resources policy to build talent, youth innovation, entrepreneurial development and diversification of skilled personnel in the Greater Bay Area. 

Vice President of MUST, Pang Chuan, who is also the president of the association, talked about 15 measures which were recently announced by the Central Government to benefit both Macau and Hong Kong.

Pang believes that the measures are very practical and will better integrate the residents of the two SARs and Guangdong. In particular, he believes that the measures can help consolidate differences in the treatment of residents from the two different systems.

The measures announced by the Central Government are intended to treat residents from the SARs and Guangdong equally in terms of employment, living and other policies.

Pang believes that the measures provide more suitable conditions to integrate people from the three regions. Pang also voiced that Macau local youth should first improve their competitiveness and seize opportunities to compete.

On the sidelines of the forum, Vice President of Greater Bay Youth Association, Cheung Wing-tat, said that the GBA provides many benefits for the employment of Hong Kong and Macau residents. In his opinion, Macau depends strongly on a singular industry and entrepreneurial costs in Macau are high as well. He recommends that youth from Macau with entrepreneurial aspirations learn more about the Greater Bay Area, especially about Guangdong province.

Cheung thinks that development in Macau and Hong Kong is rather mature, although Guangdong’s Greater Bay Area has more opportunities.

Of the 15 measures announced by the Central Government, Cheung is most focused on the measures that aim to facilitate Hong Kong and Macau residents to purchase houses in Guangdong’s Greater Bay Area cities. He believes that the measures offer ease of access to the SARs’ youth and may solve the housing affordability problem.

In Cheung’s opinion, the Greater Bay Area development needs a high-end and talented workforce and intellectuals.

Macao Creative Intelligence Development and Research Association is a community of professionals that was established in 2017. The association aims at promoting exchange between Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong GBA cities.