Lawmakers question city’s talent acquisition policies

Lawmakers expressed concerns about talent acquisition and related policies in Macau during a parliamentary plenary late last week.
Indirectly-elected lawmaker Ho Ion Sang pointed out that, although the government aims to attract foreign talent to the industries of big health, finance and technology, and sports and culture, the city is still missing these skilled workers and thus no industries have been established so far.
He also stressed that Macau has been losing skilled workers. Citing a survey conducted earlier by the Talent Development Committee, Ho said that poor career prospects are the main reason why skilled migrants chose not to return to Macau.
He suggested that the government establish professional and occupational accreditation, in addition to refining arrangements for childcare, accommodation, dependent visas and other matters, so as to entice skilled locals to return to Macau after completing their professional education.
Speaking on the same issue, directly-elected Leong Sun Iok commented on the recently revealed Talent Acquisition System.
Leong complimented the proposed legal framework, saying that talent acquisition will help the city’s economic diversification and nurturing of future talents. However, he pointed out, the previous talent acquisition program handled by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute was marred by exploitation and corruption, causing a loss of public confidence in the scheme.
Members of the public may also fear that the newly proposed scheme will reduce the number of employment opportunities available for local residents.
To address this, the lawmaker urged the government to clarify the criteria for incoming talent to focus on the most suitable candidates. Furthermore, he argued that regular reviews should take place so that those who enter Macau via the scheme but make no contribution to local industry would have their permanent residency applications restricted. At the same time, Leong also urged the government to establish a local talent incubation environment and to ensure local talent is represented in corporate management positions.
Directly-elected lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho slammed the government for neglecting economic diversification over many years in his speech.
For the past 20 years, he said, locals graduating from university, whether in the city or overseas, could only develop their careers in either the casino industry or civil service. Many high-caliber talents therefore chose to stay outside Macau because there were no local job opportunities in their areas of expertise.
To support his speech, he cited data showing that, in the 2019-2020 academic year, the number of locals that attained a master’s degree or doctoral degree was 2213 and 439 people, respectively. 10 years ago, by comparison, there were just 468 and 64 locals, respectively, who obtained the same two levels of degree.
Another directly elected lawmaker, Lam Lon Wai, bashed the proposed Talent Acquisition System for not having an inheritance mechanism to ensure that new talents are nurtured in Macau when skilled foreign workers are invited to the city.
He suggested the government add stipulations on apprenticeships into the system to address this issue.
Lam also proposed that the age ceiling on acquired talent be raised from 21 to 26 years old, “so as to acquire more experienced talent. The city should also prioritize locals among high-caliber professionals.”