Scholar suggests “trainee on contract” mechanism to solve talent thirst

2013-11-28

From：Macau Daily Times

The Macau SAR government recently released a policy statement emphasizing the urgent need for solutions to the city’s human resources shortage.
A Singapore professor proposed yesterday during a breakfast roundtable that the “trainee on contract” scheme could be applied in Macau more often, shifting the responsibility of fostering professionals from the public sector to companies.
Professor Audrey Tsui, from the National University of Singapore’s Business School, believes that fostering talents should not rely merely on the higher education system, but that professionals can be trained according to corporates’ demand within a shorter time. “The training can be actually conducted by either the government or private sectors,” she said.
Tsui suggested the “trainee on contract” mechanism, frequently used by mainland enterprises. The scheme refers to enterprises or industries taking a budget and approach to vocational schools, and financing them to cultivate their students’ capabilities so that they may eventually become the type of professionals that enterprises lack. The training will take a relatively short time, namely between one or two years with selected students being able to commence internships in the company.
According to Tsui, the advantage of this mechanism is that the talent shortage could be replenished in a short time. Moreover, teaching is directly linked to employer demand. She explained that Shanghai applied this mechanism in the 90s, when the city needed a large amount of professionals in the finance sector. “The government then searched for Chinese professionals that studied overseas, and invited them all the way to Shanghai. Meanwhile, local potentials were provided with training, both with and without a degree. These measures worked to meet the talent demand within different time frames.”
She believes “trainee on contract” can be effective for Macau as well: “The current higher education curriculum may be too rigid for a quick response. It takes some time to apply to the government to launch a new program.” She suggested the mechanism could be applied to industries such as the hotel, tourism, events and retail industries. “The city receives 30 million of visitors every year; the level of service quality should be enhanced. And I have a strong feeling that the urban planning sector in Macau is in great demand of talent, as well as transportation and education,” she said yesterday before the roundtable discussion.
Tsui, who has also held positions in universities in Switzerland, HK and Shanghai, advised Macau employers to encourage local talents to “go out” and receive professional training, by offering scholarships or other special support to them. At the same time, when locals are training, inviting migrant talents is also an essential complement but she stressed that there should be a balance. “How many talents will be needed? What is the time frame?
“Non-locals can only be a supplement, instead of a replacement; this is the most basic principle (that we should follow).”
The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) organized its third breakfast roundtable yesterday at Sofitel Macao, with the topic of “Human Resource Strategies for Macao.” Four speakers representing academia, business, the nonprofit sector, and the legal professionals, shared their views.
Mr Luis Melo, partner at MdME Lawyers, criticized that the “incomplete” and “unclear” laws and rules create barriers for new business to be established in Macau.
“We’ve heard about the diversification of the economy and investment many times and what we see today is that new businesses established in Macau simply fail because they cannot find employers.” Mr Melo gave examples of bankruptcy cases of Viva Macau, Macau Dragon and Reolian: “We cannot talk about the diversification of the economy and investment if the right policy is not in place.” According to the lawyer, the “excessive protection” on local workforce also creates a huge problem for new businessesfrom outside Macau.
Mr Melo believes there should be transparent rules. He suggested the authorities list standards for blue card applicants to make things clear. Furthermore, a resolution system is needed, according to Luis Melo. “If the application is rejected, we can challenge the decision through the resolution system, without waiting a long time in court.”

Copyright@Macau Daily Times