Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said yesterday that the government will announce and launch its talent introduction programme for culture, sport and other industries next month, in order to further attract more qualified human resources to Macau.
Ao Ieong made the remarks during an oral interpellation plenary session yesterday in the legislature’s hemicycle, pointing out that the government is running its High-end Talents Programme for highly qualified human resources for the areas of big health, high and new technologies and modern finance.
Ao Ieong said that so far the programme has received 529 applications, of which 74 meet the programme’s initial requirements, which would be further discussed and assessed by the Talents Development Committee later.
According to the government-appointed committee’s website, the non-local talent introduction system consists of three specific programmes – High-end Talents, Outstanding Talents, and Advanced Professionals. Successful applicants and their spouses and underage children will enjoy the same rights and social welfare as Macau residents, including 15-years free education, medical care and social security, with low corporate and individual income tax rates.
Lawmaker-cum-SJM executive Angela Leong On Kei noted during yesterday’s session that Hong Kong and many cities in the mainland have set up talent introduction systems, while Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai are more relaxed than Macau in terms of their qualification examinations and assessments and more generous in offering talents benefits. She asked the government what’s Macau’s advantage in terms of its talent introduction system.
Ao Ieong pointed out that non-local talents and their family members who have been granted residence permits through the system can enjoy the same welfare benefits as Macau residents, including medical, social security, and favourable taxation.
Ao Ieong said that after the completion of the first round of the programme, the government will review and adjust the programme in the light of civil society’s views, industrial development and civil society’s human resources before launching a new round of its programme to introduce non-local talents to Macau.
Ao Ieong also noted that there is room for improvement in the talent database in Macau, adding that the government will add more local university students with high grades to the talent database and establish close contacts with them, as well as offer them better training support, such as assisting in internships in large enterprises, so as to increase the willingness of talents to return to Macau for their career development.
Meanwhile, Ao Ieong said that the government has attached great significance to cultivating students’ scientific literacy, adding that it has been urging young students to participate in science-related activities, and also continues to update the facilities of the Macau Science Centre (MSC).
Ao Ieong noted that a total of six MSC exhibition halls have been updated this year, of which five are already open to the public, while the remaining one is slated to open before the end of this month. The centre has also been developing extra-curricular science programmes tailor-made for local schools, and more than 30,000 students from 98 schools participated in the programme in the first nine months of this year, Ao Ieong added.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elise Ao Ieong U addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
