207 Hong Kong Engineers Achieve Mainland Professional Qualifications in GBA Pilot Program

First batch of Hong Kong engineers pass Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area engineering "Professional Title" evaluation

The first batch of 207 Hong Kong engineers from the public sector, consultants, and contractors passed the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) engineering "Professional Title" evaluation and obtained corresponding engineering professional qualifications on the Mainland. "Professional Title" is a unique evaluation system for professional qualifications adopted by the Mainland. It is an important benchmark for evaluating the skills and qualification levels of professionals and provides a basis for construction enterprises to recruit and promote talent.

Speaking at the celebration ceremony organised by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers today (November 12), the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said that the Development Bureau (DEVB) has been dovetailing with the National 14th Five-Year Plan on the strategy of high-quality development of the GBA, and is committed to driving Hong Kong's construction and engineering sectors to seize opportunities to pursue development in the Mainland cities of GBA, thereby better integrating into the national development. The successful completion of the first pilot assessment batch of engineering "Professional Title" qualifications creates more opportunities and favourable conditions for the construction industry to expand the territory of professional services. It reflects the country's support and care for Hong Kong professionals, which is a great encouragement. It also allows Hong Kong professionals to better contribute to the country's development.

Due to differences in systems between Hong Kong and the Mainland, it was not easy for Hong Kong professionals to apply for a Mainland "Professional Title" qualification in the past. With the joint efforts of the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments, a new evaluation mechanism of this qualification for Hong Kong professionals was established last year, and implemented as a pilot scheme in five engineering disciplines, namely civil engineering, geotechnical, highway, electrical and measurement, control and instrumentation. The assessment of the first batch of applications for "Professional Title" qualifications has been completed this year with 207 Hong Kong engineers obtaining Mainland "Professional Title" qualifications that include the ranks of "Professorate Senior Engineer", "Senior Engineer", "Engineer" and "Assistant Engineer".

The pilot mechanism for evaluation of "Professional Title" qualifications is an innovative mechanism for Hong Kong professionals to acquire such qualifications on the Mainland, and represents a major breakthrough in the convergence of the rules between the two places in the area of professional qualifications. Integrating into the Mainland's evaluation mechanism of "Professional Title" qualifications will help Hong Kong professionals gain recognition of their skill levels and qualifications in the Mainland market, thereby creating favourable conditions for the development of Hong Kong professionals on the Mainland.

The DEVB will continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant Mainland authorities and co-ordinate the local construction sector to take forward the relevant work, with a view to achieving the indicators for specified tasks of this year's Policy Address, namely regularising the evaluation mechanism of "Professional Title" qualifications in mid-2025, and extending the mechanism to other construction related professions with the right conditions, such as surveying, architecture, etc.

First batch of Hong Kong engineers pass Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area engineering "Professional Title" evaluation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

First batch of Hong Kong engineers pass Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area engineering "Professional Title" evaluation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

First batch of Hong Kong engineers pass Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area engineering "Professional Title" evaluation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Meeting attendance of members of District Councils in 2024

The Home Affairs Department (HAD) made the following clarifications today (January 2) regarding certain media reports on the meeting attendance of the current-term members of the District Councils (DCs) in 2024:

(1) The current-term DC members were diligent in their work, with over 98 per cent of 470 members having attended all DC meetings or were only absent with the DC's consent; over 90 per cent having attended all committee/working group meetings or were only absent with the DC's consent. Aside from attending DC meetings, each DC member on average attended 28 committee/working group meetings;

(2) all DC members fulfilled the requirement under the Performance Monitoring Guidelines for Members of the DCs (the Guidelines), i.e. attendance rate of not lower than 80 per cent and no DC members were in violation of the requirement; certain reports were incorrect in stating that some DC members were in violation of the Guidelines due to their absence at meetings since absence at an individual meeting was not a violation in itself; and

(3) for the purpose of calculating attendance, the Guidelines stipulate certain reasons for absence that would be consented by the DCs, including sickness and attendance at another meeting or an activity on behalf of the DCs etc. If a DC member were absent from meetings due to the aforementioned reasons with the DC's consent, the absence would not affect his/her attendance rate. If a DC member were absent from meetings due to other reasons (i.e. personal matters), the absence would be counted towards his/her attendance rate.

​The HAD hoped that media outlets and members of the public would have an accurate understanding of DC members' attendance situation at meetings. The current-term DC members' attendance rate at meetings was the highest amongst all previous terms, which fully demonstrated DC members' efforts and work in improving governance at the district level.