Hong Kong expands civil service recruitment to third-year undergraduate students

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Successful candidates with conditional offers can join the civil service upon graduation, subject to their fulfillment of specified conditions.

In order to attract more young people with aspirations to serve the community to join the civil service, starting from this year, the HKSAR government will expand the pool of eligible candidates for civil service jobs to undergraduate or postgraduate students in their penultimate year of study.

Under the new initiative, government departments/grades may, with regard to their manpower resources and operational needs, consider recruiting undergraduate students advancing to their third year of undergraduate studies (in a four-year curriculum) in the new academic year, or those currently in their third year of undergraduate studies, as well as postgraduate students in their penultimate year of study; allowing these students to apply for civil service jobs requiring an undergraduate or a postgraduate qualification.

Such arrangements will be clearly set out in the recruitment advertisements. Successful candidates will be granted a conditional offer. They can join the civil service upon graduation, subject to their fulfillment of specified conditions, including the completion of the relevant academic qualification within a stipulated period of time.

The Civil Service Bureau will adjust the arrangements of the relevant civil service recruitment examinations in light of the new initiative.

The Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung (pictured above) described the new initiative as a win-win situation for young people, universities as well as the Government, during a meeting with the representatives of eight University Grants Committee-funded universities at the Central Government Offices on Thursday (1 June 2023).

"As more and more public organisations and private enterprises have implemented similar initiatives, it is important for the Government to keep abreast with the times and recruit talent earlier," said Yeung.

“Young people with aspirations to join the Government will be able to plan their careers early, focus on their studies and equip themselves after being offered a conditional appointment. Universities will be able to help more students interested in public services to plan ahead and better prepare themselves. The Government will be able to recruit talent as early as possible to infuse new blood into the civil service and build up a diverse talent pool," she said.

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