Forty-four companies and organisations, professional associations and government departments exhibited at the Career Forum. They spent the day answering enquiries from attendees on a wide range of topics from the visitors and distributed brochures and leaflets on employment opportunities and general corporate information. Some focused on building their corporate brands when talking to visitors, a majority of whom were university undergraduates attracted to the full-day event by the opportunity to interact directly with company personnel. Students were eager to ask about the management trainee programmes offered by the exhibiting organisations, as well as job openings in the year ahead.

Smith & Associates Far East 

A first-time exhibitor at the forum, global electronic component distributor Smith & Associates wanted to let undergraduates know there are many career opportunities for newcomers beyond fields such as finance and banking, said Patricia Lau, corporate recruiter at the company.

“We organise a training programme for fresh graduates recruited by our sales department. This comprehensive scheme is similar to the management trainee programme offered by other companies. As part of the training, new recruits will get exposure to many aspects of the company’s operations. They are expected to get involved and contribute. Each newly recruited sales assistant will be assigned a mentor.”

Additional training resources include the “Smith University”, an online training portal offering a multitude of courses covering numerous topics and skills. They provide in-depth knowledge of the electronics sector, a personality test, ways to enhance communication and management skills, as well as more advanced techniques for making sales pitches and calls. “Some colleagues in Hong Kong will be sent overseas to collaborate with their counterparts at branch offices abroad,” Lau said.

The company was also promoting vacancies in sales and operations, and people from all backgrounds can apply.

“We welcome applications for positions in sales throughout the year. Graduates from any discipline are welcome. The key quality is high emotional intelligence. As for positions in operations, graduates from engineering or IT may be more interested because this division involves work in warehouse and quality control,” Lau said.

Kowloon Development Company

One of the main new business strategies implemented by property firm Kowloon Development Company focuses on premium real estate projects and investment in Hong Kong, Macau and the Greater Bay Area in mainland China. The company is looking for new rectuits with innovative ideas who will be committed to the property sector, said Lily Chong, group HR and administration director.

“Although Kowloon Development has been in the industry for decades, we have kept a low profile. By exhibiting at this forum, we wanted to increase awareness of our company among the visiting undergraduates. Through this employer brand-building exercise, we let them understand that our management is in constant pursuit of top-grade property development projects,” she said, pointing to the range of project catalogues on display. “We also want to attract young graduates to join us and contribute fresh and creative ideas to our future projects. That’s why we are in the process of developing our management trainee programme. We are working on the curriculum and training the mentors. The ideal candidates should be outgoing and innovative thinkers.”

Visitors to Kowloon Development’s booth were mainly undergraduates keen to find out more about the company and its activities. Some made enquiries about job openings available and salary levels. “There were some Year 1 and 2 students. We spoke to them to help them gain an understanding of our main business,” Chong said. “The Career Forum is well organised. I think the location is convenient.”

Jones Lang LaSalle

Commercial property management and investment specialist Jones Lang LaSalle Hong Kong was exhibiting at the Career Forum for employer branding purpose, said human resources manager Michael Tung.

“We also promoted our long-established graduate trainee programme. Every year, we recruit 12 to 15 graduate trainees, who are usually selected from up to 2,000 applicants. In this one-year programme, they will be rotated to two departments with different business functions so as to gain the maximum full exposure to the different aspects of our operations,” Tung said.

“For instance, if a trainee’s first hosting department involves mainly frontline work, it’s likely that the second department in the rotation will focus on totally different functions such as professional responsibilities or management.”

Tung says that although many applicants major in valuation or surveying, the company welcomes candidates who have studied other disciplines because employees without previous technical know-how are encouraged to enrol in part-time courses to equip themselves with specialised professional knowledge.

 “Attributes we look for in candidates include an ambition to work in real estate, a striving for excellence, an ethical mindset and being a team player. Last year, we had trainees who hailed from the US and Malaysia. Staff with different language skills can be matched with different departments. Our clients are international.”

Schneider Electric

The eye-catching booth design of Schneider Electric attracted the attention of many visitors, thanks to its backdrop featuring a gigantic “on” button and photo booth to post selfies on its Facebook page. “We are a business to business (B to B) brand aiming to build an employer brand among university students in Hong Kong,” said Janet Man, vice-president for global talent management at the multinational energy management and automation specialist. “We want to let them know that our company serves the world with a meaningful purpose.”

The company clearly communicated its mission to interested students and aimed to appeal to those seeking to make a positive impact in their careers.

“The giant ‘on’ button with the statement ‘Life is On’ served to symbolise our mission,” Man said. “The eye-catching backdrop reflects our ‘Bold Campaign’, conveying the core message that we seek innovative solutions for energy management and automation.”

To highlight the company’s search for “agile” people who will be flexible and constructively disruptive in making contributions towards progress around the world, Schneider Electric set up a special photo booth to challenge visitors to take selfies and write captions starting with “I am agile enough to be …”. Man said the company encouraged visitors to think about ways they can make a positive difference. The selfies were immediately posted on the company’s Facebook page. “We wanted to capture the students’ creative thinking and the Facebook page also enables us to maintain an ongoing relationship with them,” she said.

“Schneider Electric runs a China management trainee programme which recruits graduates from Hong Kong,” Man said. “We also engage students through our internship programme and our annual global ‘Go Green in the City’ competition where students submit their innovative solutions for energy management.”

Hongkong Electric

Local public utility Hongkong Electric exhibited at the forum with the objective of promoting its graduate trainee programme. This two- and three-year scheme offers intensive, structured training and in-depth knowledge of diverse specialised areas. It focuses on engineering specification, tender evaluation, project management, construction, operations and maintenance in connection with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, says Elaine Kong of the firm’s HR department.

“Trainees are expected to gain full exposure to the company’s operations under this comprehensive and holistic programme. They have job rotations in different departments. In addition, coaching and mentorship will be provided by experienced engineers,” Kong says, adding that trainees enjoy attractive remuneration and benefit packages.

Hongkong Electric seeks candidates with a long-term commitment to the power sector, she notes. “We want individuals with a strong interest in and enthusiasm for developing a career in engineering in the power sector. They are expected to possess strong technical knowledge and such attributes as good analytical and interpersonal skills. They need a good command of English and Chinese, both oral and written, to perform well in their daily work.”

Immigration Department

Among the disciplined services in Hong Kong exhibiting at the forum was the Immigration Department.  Ng Yun-ming, senior immigration officer, in the recruitment and training research section, said the goal of exhibiting was to promote the department’s vision, missions and values and to attract high-calibre individuals. “We also took this opportunity to promote our year-round ‘Immigration Assistant Open Recruitment Exercise’, launched in February 2017. Under the initiative, interested individuals who meet the entry requirements may submit applications throughout the year.”

Newly recruited officers and assistants are respectively required to undergo a 25-week or a 14-week residential induction training at the Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development, Ng noted.

“The training curriculum is a combination of theory and practice, covering areas of law, immigration policies and procedures, and the functions and organisation of the department. There is particular emphasis on nourishing a sense of discipline and a commitment to serve the community.

“We are looking for individuals with a sense of mission to serve the community and the public, with initiative and a sense of responsibility as well as excellent analytical and communication skills,” Ng said.