FINTECH MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC FINANCIAL CENTERS WITH A FOCUS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS

55 54 Policy Recommendations 3. Match students with opportunities At least five major universities in Hong Kong along with some banks are amongst the top ten employers of AI and big data professionals in the city. This affords a huge opportunity for the Hong Kong Government to strengthen the university industry linkages through relevant policy framework so that the talent pool from the universities can be placed into the financial industry. Through these linkages, firms in the financial services sector can also give their input regarding development and evolution of the courses and curricula being taught at the universities. Students of these universities can also be placed as interns and apprentices in the financial industry. This will open the doors for their employment after their graduation as they can develop the requisite AI and big data skills during their internships and apprenticeships with the financial firms. Besides, technology incubators like Cyberport, ASTRI and HKSTP should continue playing their roles in Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem in developing domestic talent pipelines in AI and big data. 4. Leverage AI to solve other sustainable development challenges in Hong Kong Hong Kong also needs to create diverse employment opportunities for its AI and big data manpower as most of them are concentrated within universities and the banking sector. This can be made possible by widening the view of how AI can help solve economic, societal or environmental problems in Hong Kong. Policies, not only for university industry linkages, but also industry to industry contacts for allowing the mobility of AI and big data talent across industries will be immensely valuable. This can spur innovation in many industries outside of the financial services sector and enhance the overall quality and opportunities available to AI and big data manpower in Hong Kong. 5. Develop well rounded, multidisciplinary talent Hong Kong is also facing a challenge from the perspective of the professionals working in the financial industry who possess both management and technical skills. Only 9.41% of the professionals have these three skills in the finance sector. Policy interventions should, therefore, encourage development of a package of skills. At the university level, academic programs being run especially by the business schools can be redesigned for nurturing AI and big data talent for the finance sector in Hong Kong. A large portion of professionals in Hong Kong’s financial industry has only business and finance related skills (89.89%). These professionals can be motivated and encouraged through policies for pursuing non-degree, upskilling short courses and customized professional training in AI and big data offered by universities and training institutions across Hong Kong. 6. Support Retention of AI and big-data talent in Hong Kong Before the start of the pandemic, it was plausible to roll out policies such as tax incentives, subsidies and immigration schemes to attract AI and big data talent from overseas into the finance sector. However, given the current uncertainties around the pandemic and continued restrictions on overseas travel, policies that capitalize on local universities and Hong Kong’s knowledge infrastructure can actually bring about greater dividends. Moreover, a reliance on the domestic institutions for a supply of potential employees and nurturing AI and big data talent is beneficial as these institutions are embedded in Hong Kong’s economy and society, and most of them are in a good position to understand the practices, policies and strategic directions of the local financial industry. They can, therefore, offer tailor-made programs as per the needs of Hong Kong’s financial industry. Hong Kong should also monitor and manage the overall talent outflow of AI and big data manpower. Retention of talent within a geographic domain may depend on several factors i.e., political, social, economic and culture. Hong Kong has been taking measures to provide comfortable multilingual living environments along with other facilities such as health infrastructure and educational institutions for the children of international workers in an attempt to retain AI and big data talent in the financial industry. However, all stakeholders must come together to devise long-term career growth prospects for the retention of local and international talent. It becomes easier to retain talent if an attractive roadmap for their career development is set out, and this needs to be done on a priority basis in Hong Kong.