Working in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Undergraduates' Intention and Concerns

The Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme (YES) was announced in the Chief Executive’s 2020 Policy Address, which aims to support the cross-border companies recruiting fresh local graduates to work in other cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Different from other schemes, the YES spares the considerable quotation for Innovation & Technology (I&T) talent and sets up a specific higher salary standard. To date, the major strategy adopted in this scheme is to provide subsidy to companies. The intention of Hong Kong STEM graduates will be a crucial condition for the success of this scheme and other similar schemes in the future. Therefore, it is compelling to investigate their intention to work in I&T companies in the GBA and the influencing factors. Based on the well-established Theory of Planned Behaviour, this project will conduct in-depth interviews and a large-scale survey to explore the intention of STEM undergraduates to work in I&T companies in the GBA and the major factors influencing their intention. The interviews will be conducted with STEM undergraduates, university career consultants, STEM academics, and Hong Kong I&T professionals working in GBA. Stratified sampling will be adopted to identify approximately 700 STEM undergraduates to complete the survey. This study will systematically reveal the following: (i) the status of STEM undergraduates’ intention to work in the GBA; (ii) the major factors that influence the undergraduates’ intentions; (iii) the differences in their intention and influencing factors in terms of STEM majors, universities, and social-economic backgrounds of their families. All these findings will be of value to provide the government and the public a useful reference for designing policies and strategies to facilitate the implementation of the YES and strengthen the bilateral flow of I&T talent in GBA.

Funding Source: HKSAR Govt - Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (PPR)