Lawmakers call for better talent development as plenary tackles youth unemployment

Amid concerns from lawmaker Leong Sun Iok regarding Macau’s “structural unemployment” and the underutilization of youth talent, another legislator highlighted that the core challenge facing the region is the availability of suitable talent.

The Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary session was held yesterday, during which legislators engaged in the introduction, general discussion, and voting on five bills.

Prior to this, 27 lawmakers delivered pre-agenda statements, with many proposing recommendations to enhance “high-quality” youth employment opportunities in Macau.

The current government prioritizes youth employment and development, emphasizing the protection of local residents’ employment rights.

Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai has reiterated his commitment to safeguarding residents’ priority in employment, maintaining a relatively low overall unemployment rate.

However, recent media reports from neighboring regions reveal that over half of Macau’s latest unemployed population consists of youth under age 34.

Additionally, data indicates that approximately 3,000 delivery riders on Macau’s three major food delivery platforms are either unemployed or recent graduates taking up delivery work while searching for suitable jobs. The average age of these riders is 32, with over 70% working part-time, sparking intense online discussions.

In an interview with Hong Kong media outlet TVB, Leong reportedly highlighted that Macau currently has 15,000 enterprises employing non-local workers, with 55% of all non-local workers employed in large companies that offer promising development opportunities, especially for the 6,000 professional non-local workers.

He suggested that if the government reviews the importation of non-local labor and implements talent training and development programs, these professional positions could become accessible to local youth. This approach, he argued, would not only tackle youth unemployment but also enhance the overall employment structure in Macau.

Yesterday, the legislator raised the issue once again at the Legislative Assembly session, focusing on the theme of “optimizing structures, enhancing safeguards, and fully promoting upward mobility for youth.” During the session, he emphasized that assisting the next generation in smoothly transitioning from students to working professionals is a challenge that both the government and society must jointly confront.

He acknowledged that Macau is currently grappling with “structural unemployment” and underutilization of youth talent.

“Many technical positions in the region remain unfilled by locals, while numerous enterprises are reluctant to hire job seekers lacking experience and skills,” he noted. Furthermore, he pointed out that Macau’s training system does not adequately address the needs of industrial development. “The government must take the lead in addressing these training deficiencies,” he asserted.

Similarly addressing the issue of high-quality human capital, fellow legislator Kevin Ho stated, “Macau’s core challenge has shifted from ‘whether people are available’ to ‘whether suitable talent is available, and whether we can effectively cultivate, retain, and utilize local talent.’” He emphasized that this marks a significant transition from focusing on “population quantity” to prioritizing “human capital quality,” as highlighted in his pre-agenda statement.

Ho further noted that the “high-quality human capital dividend” goes beyond simply increasing the proportion of highly educated individuals. He asserted that realizing this value depends significantly on forward-looking educational policy planning, clear industrial policy guidance, and robust, inclusive labor systems.

In his recommendations, he highlighted the importance of strengthening the connection between youth talent cultivation and key industrial development.

He pointed out that, in addition to updating curriculum content, authorities should expand in-depth internship programs, foster industry-academia-research collaboration platforms, and encourage participation in cross-border innovation projects.

“These initiatives would allow young people to engage with real industrial environments and cutting-edge topics during their learning phase,” he explained. Additionally, he called for the establishment of an education planning and supply mechanism oriented toward medium- to long-term industrial needs to better align talent demand forecasting with educational planning.

Meanwhile, other legislators argue that Macau lacks a clear blueprint outlining the talent demand list and skill standards for future key industries.

They suggest that such a framework would provide society with clear guidance for talent development, direct educational and training resources to meet specific needs, and establish a solid policy foundation for the career advancement of young professionals.