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A Legislative Council exchange last week revealed that entry-level graduate jobs have fallen 61 per cent in three years, with administrative roles down nearly 90 per cent, due in part to the widespread use of artificial intelligence (“Hong Kong labour chief rejects review of non-local graduate visas despite job slump”, May 13).

Yet the government projects a labour shortfall of 180,000 workers by 2028. Skilled technicians account for a third of that gap.

The problem is not a lack of training courses. This is a problem of matching. Many Hongkongers do not know which skills to learn or how to turn a certificate into a job. There is no systematic guidance, no personalised coaching, and no follow up on whether training leads to better pay.

The upgrade of the Employees Retraining Board, which will be renamed Upskill Hong Kong, is welcome. The new AI research institute and other initiatives show genuine commitment. But the underlying philosophy remains largely unchanged: build more training supply or “canteens”, and hand out Continuing Education Fund vouchers for residents to choose their own “meals”. That model works for the self-motivated, but leaves others behind.

Singapore offers a constructive example. Its Workforce Singapore – which will soon be merged with another agency to offer a more integrated workforce ecosystem – functions less like a canteen and more like a health clinic. Jobseekers receive an initial self-assessment, are matched with a certified career coach and receive ongoing support. Under the new Skills and Workforce Development Agency, success will continue to be measured by outcomes: time to job placement and wage growth, not just training numbers.