One of the oldest power companies in the world – it has been illuminating the streets of Hong Kong since 1890 – HK Electric will be at the Career Forum to recruit graduate trainees (GTs) and assistant engineers.

Depending on the discipline joined,  the GT programme lasts for two or three years. Once completed, trainees will be employed as engineers in either power generation, transmission and distribution, project management, or corporate development. Those joining as assistant engineers, meanwhile, are also taken on in various engineering disciplines.

Dennis Wu, the company’s general manager, human resources, says that the GT programme has been set up with the aim to develop graduates into future leaders of the company.

“Trainees attend a series of management training courses to enhance their personal effectiveness and sharpen their communication, teamwork and customer service skills,” he says. “They will take up projects and work with different departments to acquire a variety of technical know-how.”

The engineering training covers areas such as project design, engineering specification, tender evaluation, project management, construction, operation and maintenance – all in connection with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

HK Electric is on the lookout for students with bachelor degrees in civil, electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering.

Upon graduation from the GT programme, trainees attain the level of Engineer III and, over a further period of two to three years, move up to Engineer II. Assistant engineers will also be provided with a comparable career progression with the accumulation of hands-on engineering experience.

“The engineers from both streams will receive the necessary engineering and project exposure to prepare them to be qualified as a chartered engineer,” Wu says. “They can then move up the career ladder to take charge of a specific engineering function independently.”

Once they have accumulated enough leadership experience, graduates can gain promotion to section head, chief engineer and general manager.

“We are looking for graduates with strong professional knowledge, good analytical skills, decent interpersonal skills, and a strong motivation to learn and grow into a seasoned engineer,” Wu says.