The Challenges of Civil Servant Talent Development

According to the Hong Kong’s Civil Service Code, the SAR’s civil service is the backbone of the government, supporting it in the formulation, explanation and implementation of policies as well as in the conduct of administrative affairs and the delivery of both public services and law enforcement as part of service to the community.

Personnel at Directorate and Administrative Officer Grades play an important role in the HKSAR’s governance landscape. Furthermore, quite a number of Principal Officials in the Governance Team come from the civil service. As a result, it provides an important channel for training government officials in the territory. The civil service is also one of the most popular career choices for young people who can help to ensure its continuity and sustainability.

However, the city’s political and social landscape has undergone drastic changes in recent years which have jeopardized the credibility of the SAR government, and the civil service has inevitably been left feeling the heat of public opinion. Given the city's increasingly complicated social development, along with the public's high expectations of civil servants during the full implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong”, there are concerns about the ability of the civil service to recruit, retain and nurture the talent required to face the challenges ahead.

Key points from respondents

● 92.3% take the view that nurturing talented civil servants is important for Hong Kong.

● Problems being faced by the civil service were rated in terms of severity as follows;

7.97 Lack of public trust in the government

6.96 Social divides

6.42 Failure to attract talented recruits

Note Figures reflect averages on a scale of 0-10, where 10 denotes very serious and 5 denotes moderately serious.

● 62.8% say that they do not want to join the civil service. The most commonly cited reasons in order of priority are:

 Tedious nature of civil service jobs

 Political pressure

 Reluctance to make an oath of allegiance

 Unwillingness to join the current government

● 23% say they want to join the civil service, with majority citing good salary and benefits as reasons.

Note 14 civil servants among the respondents were excluded from the above

● 52.3% think that the civil service system is effective for nurturing talent for governance but 47.4% think otherwise.

From a list of important skills for today’s civil servants, top priority was given as follows:

● 53.9% Understanding public sentiment as the top priority

● 51.4% Ability to collaborate with different stakeholders

● 36.2% Capacity for leadership

● 35.1% Foresight

● 31.3% Ability to make sound political judgements

● 55.8% Hoped that the soon-to-be-established Civil Service College would nurture appropriate leadership and management skills.

● 54.1% Hoped it would aid the transfer of knowledge and experience accumulated by the civil service.

Note A Legco paper presented in February this year states that the new college will “…help the government enhance training for civil servants in different areas such as understanding of our country’s development and the relationship between the Central Authorities and the (HKSAR), leadership development, innovation and technology applications, and international outlook.”

Source legco.gov.hk/yr20-21/english/panels/ps/papers/ps20210217cb4499-4-e.pdf

Key points from individual youth interviews

15 young people were asked individually for their views. Ten were current civil servants.

● The young civil servants said they joined the civil service because of their wish to serve the public. This driving force enabled them to overcome difficulties at work.

Key points from interviews with experts and academics

● Given the rapid changes seen in the city in recent years, greater insight at societal, national and international levels were considered most needed as well as a boost to the morale of civil servants.

Report No.61 HKFYG Youth I.D.E.A.S. Governance group

Published title The Challenges of Civil Servant Talent Development

Survey respondents 527 young people aged 18-34

Parallel interviews with 15 youth and five experts or academics

Date March to April 2021

More details [in Chinese] yrc.hkfyg.org. hk/2021/06/15/yi061/

Enquiries Sharon Cheung 3755 7039

Comments from Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tank members

John Poon, group member “The brain drain in the civil service is now evident and so we call on the government to open up channels for early identification and grooming of potential talent. For example, a new scholarship programme could be launched, with secondary school students as the main target, stipulating that scholarship recipients should work in the government on a part-time or full-time basis for a specific period during their studies or after graduation. Scholarship recipients considered to be of exceptional merit could be offered promotion. The government could also expand channels for recommending students for the Administrative Service Internship Programme. Currently, channels are limited to tertiary institutions but could include think tanks and large community-service or communitybased organizations.”

Tony Tsui, group member “The government should develop a nurturing framework to broaden civil servants’ perspective at societal, national and international levels. The framework should also help enhance civil servants’ political awareness, including ability to understand the pulse of society, strengthen national perspective and maintain a world view.”

Rita Chan, group member “The government should strengthen civil servants’ sense of mission, the positive image of the service and team morale through social media platforms so as to promote the public service spirit of the profession. Civil servants should be encouraged to share touching and inspiring stories and experiences with the public.”