Legislative Council documents reveal a concerning trend: More than 36,000 young people in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region aged 15 to 24 are neither employed nor in education or training. Commonly referred to as “NEETs”, this group represents not a temporary fluctuation but a structural challenge. While policymakers often suggest that today’s young people simply require more time to explore career options, the persistence of this figure suggests deeper root causes that demand targeted intervention.
Youth disengagement — sometimes described as “lying flat” — is driven by systemic educational mismatches, shifting socioeconomic incentives and rapid technological disruption. In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping labor demand and eroding traditional entry-level roles, the barrier to workforce entry has risen significantly. Without a strategic shift away from broad financial subsidies toward structural reform, the number of disengaged young people is unlikely to decline.
One root cause lies deep within the education system, and as a member of academia, it is a reality I confront with a profound sense of helplessness. Our system requires students to make high-stakes academic decisions at 17 or 18 years old, often before they fully understand their own interests or the realities of different industries. Predictably, many later discover that their chosen discipline does not align with their strengths or career aspirations. Yet, when they seek a way out, they find themselves trapped by rigid institutional barriers; internal program transfers are frequently subject to competitive entry standards similar to new admissions, penalizing those who are already struggling in an unsuitable field. It is deeply painful to watch bright young people realize they are stuck, lose their drive, and ultimately give up on their own potential. Left with no viable exit strategy and beyond the reach of meaningful academic intervention, a growing number of these students succumb to a disengaged, “certificate-first” mentality, merely going through the motions rather than actively building the skills or professional exposure needed to attract employers’ attention.
Addressing this requires institutionalizing structured career exposure well before graduation. Internships should not be optional enhancements to resumes but embedded components of the curriculum. Career exploration should begin as early as senior secondary school to prepare students for the Joint University Programmes Admissions System applications. Early workplace experience would enable students to make informed academic choices based on firsthand understanding rather than peer influence or parental expectations. Universities should likewise require credit-bearing internships to ensure graduates enter the workforce with practical exposure rather than purely theoretical credentials.
Furthermore, many young graduates do not face immediate financial pressure to contribute to household income. Extended periods of career exploration therefore become more socially acceptable. At the same time, traditional industries such as construction, elevator maintenance, and food and beverage services struggle with outdated perceptions and unclear advancement pathways. When entry-level roles appear demanding yet offer no visible upward mobility, it is an uphill battle to attract young people to join these sectors.
The solution must be to rebuild structured career ladders within these essential sectors. The SAR government, the Vocational Training Council, and the Employees Retraining Board (due to be rebranded as Upskill Hong Kong) should collaborate closely with industry leaders to design transparent certification frameworks and progression pathways. Demonstrating how a technical trainee can advance to become a licensed engineer, project manager or operations director would reshape perceptions. When upward mobility is visible and professionally recognized, traditional industries can transform from perceived “dead ends” into viable long-term careers.
Looming over both educational misalignment and sectoral perception is the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence. Employers across industries have become increasingly cautious about expanding entry-level headcount as automation and generative AI tools enhance efficiency. The numbers say it all: From 80,000 graduate-suitable positions in 2022, recent figures show a 61 percent decline to just 31,000. This stark contraction reflects not merely cyclical weakness, but a profound structural transformation.
Demonstrating how a technical trainee can advance to become a licensed engineer, project manager or operations director would reshape perceptions. When upward mobility is visible and professionally recognized, traditional industries can transform from perceived “dead ends” into viable long-term careers
In response, the education sector is already integrating AI training in many academic programs. For recent graduates, Upskill Hong Kong should expand practical, accredited AI certificate and diploma programs accessible to graduates across disciplines. For government-subsidized youth employment schemes, funding should be conditional upon employers providing structured, on-the-job AI training that equips participants with demonstrable technical competencies. Public resources must not finance temporary, low-skill placements that leave young people no more employable at the end of the subsidy period than at the beginning.
Encouragingly, elements of such a trilateral model already exist. The JC YUP Professional Traineeship Programme, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and delivered in partnership with the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, integrates workplace training with Qualifications Framework-recognized credentials. By combining public support, professional accreditation and employer participation, the program ensures that participants emerge as certified professionals with clear advancement pathways. This coordinated approach should serve as a blueprint for broader reform.
Youth disengagement also carries broader macroeconomic implications. Hong Kong’s overall labor force participation rate has trended downward in recent years, reflecting demographic pressures and workforce detachment. Reintegrating young people is therefore not merely a social objective but an economic necessity.
The number of NEETs will not decline through financial incentives alone. Structural problems require structural solutions: earlier career exposure, rebuilt mobility in essential industries, and widespread AI-enabled upskilling. These reforms demand coordinated action among government, educational institutions and employers. Without such orchestration, youth disengagement risks becoming entrenched rather than transitional. For the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong’s economy and the prospects of its young people, the time has come to move decisively beyond subsidies and invest in systemic, future-oriented workforce development.
The author is a senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
