AI’s swift takeover of entry-level tasks in Hong Kong is disrupting the traditional career progression for fresh graduates, reducing their chances to gain practical experience, experts say.

Lam Wai-kong, an employee representative on the Labour Advisory Board and labour sector lawmaker, highlighted that a growing focus on immediate productivity and reluctance to invest in graduate training have led some employers to prefer imported workers over local young people for technical roles. He warned this could create a persistent shortage of mid-level local talent.

“One question is whether the ladder for upward mobility will be cut off midway,” Lam said. “The second is the concern about [the breakdown in] the transmission of experience.”

Lam also noted that as the Northern Metropolis develops, mainland Chinese and international technology firms might similarly sideline local graduates unless stricter hiring requirements linked to land allocation and tax incentives are enforced.

Supporting these concerns, a third-quarter outlook survey by ManpowerGroup revealed that Hong Kong’s net employment outlook dropped to minus 9 percent, a sharp 20 percentage point decline from the previous quarter. This figure represents the difference between employers planning to increase staff and those planning to reduce staff.

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