The success of modern economies is grounded in the ability of their organisations to move things around – people and goods, swiftly and safely, and data, instantly and securely.
High-quality physical infrastructure, such as roads, high-speed rail and airports, can be key to opening up new markets and rejuvenating declining ones. Digital technology is also transforming the world of commerce, having an impact on all aspects of modern life.
The Hong Kong government sees the city’s future economic success tied to the development of the Greater Bay Area. And you don’t have to travel far to see a major construction project in progress that is connected to this scheme or others.
Arup, the international engineering, project management and consulting firm, is engaged in a number of large-scale projects, in Hong Kong and the wider region. These include the Smart City district in East Kowloon, the Central Kowloon Route, the new Terminal 3 at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, and the Vincom Landmark 81 skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Catherine Tsui, Arup’s director of human resources in East Asia, says the company is currently investing in the development of digital skills, to improve the quality and efficiency of its work. “Capitalising on our internal digital capabilities, we are also looking to offer our clients new data management and analytical skills, together with our skills in technology, systems and strategy development,” she says.
In Hong Kong, the global electronics and systems group Thales focuses on transport and security, with the e-security side of the business expanding at a particularly fast pace. In this area, the company offers both hardware and software products to protect data and authenticate identity in a number of sectors.
“Our business in Hong Kong not only serves the local market,” says Doreen Lee, head of human resources, Thales Hong Kong. “We also export our solutions to other countries in the Asia-Pacific area, including Australia, mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.”
Arup is looking to recruit talent with extensive client-side experience to work on its projects throughout Asia, along with planners, engineers, computer scientists and management consultants.
“However, we are still a firm that believes in organic growth, so we are continuing to bring in a number of graduates from related disciplines,” Tsui says.
In 2016, Arup took on about 60 graduates in Hong Kong, and 100 in the wider region, and foresees similar figures this year.
The firm offers early development assignments for relatively new staff to accelerate their professional development overseas. In addition, employees can enrol in courses offered at the “Arup University” at any point in their career. This virtual, corporate university provides structured learning, and research modules at doctoral, master’s and professional levels.
“We believe that people often learn best by doing and we have established a unique culture of mentoring,” Tsui says. “We offer a 12-month mentoring programme, in which the cross-discipline pairing of mentors and mentees enables the sharing of knowledge and experience, broadening the networks and perspectives of the mentees.”
Lee says that Thales is looking for highly flexible people who can adapt to a range of environments, cultures, time zones and work schedules. They need to be team players, innovative, fast-learning, self-motivated and willing to take responsibility.
“We have developed an innovation hub in Hong Kong that is managing a number of R&D projects,” she says. Some of the projects are in cooperation with universities, and graduates with relevant backgrounds would be ideal for this work. In addition, Thales has a local engineering team in Hong Kong.
“People development is a big topic for us.” Lee says, as the industry is a very specialised one, and it is not always easy to find candidates who are a perfect fit.
“Hence, we have to develop our own talent to respond to industry trends. We have several regional training centres to provide full-spectrum training.” These centres provide technical skills and experience in using the “Agile and Lean” methodologies.
“We recruit fresh graduates from any engineering discipline,” Lee says, adding that Thales Hong Kong currently hires five or six graduates each year, with the numbers rising.
For these graduates, the company runs schemes for different disciplines. It is an approved organisation for the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Scheme “A” training programme, while a separate course caters for non-engineering graduates.
