We can't just wait for new talent to turn up (9 November 2007)

There is a proverb that says all good things come to he who waits. But, what you do and how much you spend while you are waiting can make an enormous difference to the quality of what you get when the waiting is finally over.

Hong Kong is badly in need of an infusion of new talent. The classified pages of newspapers are bulging with advertisements every week for talented professionals to bridge a skills shortage growing ever more acute.

With our dismally low birth rate and rapidly ageing population, there simply isn't enough homegrown talent to go round and our government has, for a long time, recognised that we must push open the door and allow people from outside to help bridge our skills gap.

The problem is that they appear to have paid too much attention to the old proverb. After the launch of worthy projects such as the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, our officials appear to have simply sat back and waited for able youngsters from around the world to form an orderly queue at our door.

It hasn't happened, of course. There is far too much competition globally for talented individuals for us to expect to take our pick from the best on the market without putting in a bit more effort to show how committed we really are.

In its first 14 months, the scheme has approved only 238 applications, most of them from the mainland. These are hardly the kind of numbers that will provide a solution to the talent shortage among our 3 million or so workforce.

The seriousness of our situation cannot be overemphasised. How can we expect to establish ourselves as Asia's economic super-hub in the decades to come if we lack the people to drive our city forward? How can we remain a city of innovation when we have no young innovators to provide our vision for tomorrow?

That is why I have proposed we set up a talent taskforce to proactively seek high quality migrants from around the world and write the next chapter of our economic success story.

In the same way that we have the Hong Kong Tourism Board to attract visitors, and Invest Hong Kong to attract investors, we need a dedicated taskforce with offices in major cities around the world to sell our city as a dynamic and vibrant place to live and work.

Sitting back and waiting is not an option. We must act decisively and we must be prepared to spend. What we spend will be a sound investment in our future, and one with the potential to yield rich returns.

The job of the taskforce I am proposing is, first, to raise awareness internationally to the need for quality migrants in Hong Kong. However good your entry schemes are, if no one knows about them, they are ultimately pointless.

The second job is to promote the benefits of living in Hong Kong - our free economy, cosmopolitan lifestyle, low taxation, safe streets and first-rate medical facilities, together with excellent transport links and a wealth of opportunities for people with real initiative.

The third job is to convince them that they are both needed and wanted in Hong Kong, and the right people can make a life for themselves here in a free and exciting city that encourages and nurtures true ability like no other place on Earth.

Hong Kong's success, its buoyant and liberated economy that is the envy of Asia, was created by the endeavour of a tide of migrants two generations ago.

We must create the conditions for a second wave of selective migration to prepare us for the economic challenges ahead.

The task we face is daunting. The cost will be considerable and the effort required is great. But the prize that awaits us is beyond measure and we must do all we can to attain it. Waiting will get us nowhere - but going out and seeking that prize with energy, determination and imagination will win us a world of talent.