CUHK
News Centre

More than 700 hundred of university students have learnt the clues to pursue a successful career in the financial services sector from a group of veteran financial practitioners at a Conference on “Forthcoming Human Resources Challenges in the Financial Services Sector of Hong Kong”, held today at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Conference, which was co-organized by the Faculty of Business Administration of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUBA) and the Advisory Committee on Human Resources Development in the Financial Services Sector (FinMan Committee of HKSAR Government), aims to explore human resources challenges in the financial services sector and to foster collaboration between industry and academia in nurturing future financial talents.

In delivering the keynote speech at the Conference, Professor K. C. Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said the Government, the universities and the financial services industry had invested heavily over the years in nurturing talents. “Since the global competition for talent has become more intense than ever, we need a strong commitment from everyone in society to carry forward the mission of nurturing talent in order to sustain Hong Kong’s competitiveness,” Professor Chan said.

Apart from outlining the efforts put forth by the Government, universities and the industry individually, Professor Chan also pointed out that the collaborative efforts among all the three parties was important in bringing about effective outcomes. He was confident that with the collaborative efforts of all parties involved, Hong Kong could once again rise up to the challenge and scale new heights in the development of the financial services industry.

Professor Chan also highlighted the pivotal role of universities in educating Hong Kong’s financial work force. He said the proportion of the population with post-secondary education in the field of “business and commercial studies” had increased from 26% in 1996 to 32% in 2006.

Speaking on the same occasion, Professor Kenneth Young, Acting Vice-Chancellor of CUHK reiterated the university’s commitment to nurture financial talents, “Human capital has been an important element indispensable for the success of Hong Kong. We hope to enhance Hong Kong’s strategic position as a hub of international trade and finance. This Conference offers a platform for university students to share the valuable experiences of experts from the financial services sector.”

Bridging academic knowledge and practical experience has long been the essence of business education at CUHK. CUBA always encourages students to outreach to the business world and make various channels in place to facilitate them to do so. On top of all the unfailing efforts in internship arrangement, a series of initiatives have been taken to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to get in touch with outstanding business leaders. One of the many initiatives is the “Heart to Heart Talk” series where students can talk to top-notch business leaders in person and share their first-hand ropes in doing business. Co-organizing this FinMan Conference is another invaluable platform for the students to reach out to the business world.

Two panel discussions followed the keynote speech. The first panel, chaired by Mr Kenneth Wong, Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, addressed prevailing manpower needs faced by financial institutions and how these needs translated into skill mix, knowledge and quality expected of university graduates. The second panel, moderated by Professor Linus Cheung, Chairman, Board of Directors, HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education and Adjunct Professor of the Department of Marketing of CUHK’s Faculty of Business Administration, focused on sharing of practical experience by a group of university alumni who were working in the local financial services industry.

Panelists of the two panel sessions were all senior level executives and veteran practitioners of prestigious financial institutions. Participating students have gained invaluable advices from the sharing of these professionals. (For detailed list of the panelists, please refer to the conference programme)

The Faculty of Business Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUBA) is a pioneer in business education in Hong Kong. For over 40 years, CUBA has nurtured more than 12,000 undergraduates and over 4,000 MBA graduates, who are now very successful business leaders and entrepreneurs, and hold prominent management positions in local and international corporations. With an uncompromising insistence on quality and innovation, CUBA continues to equip our students to keep pace with the ever-changing business world through various experience sharing platforms with successful business leaders along with timely curriculum review. For more information, please visit www.baf.cuhk.edu.hk.