About the Event:

University graduates apply to jobs today armed with longer resumes, more impressive qualifications, and more numerous degrees than ever. Yet many of today’s employers are spending more time and more money training these new hires than ever. How can these two trends coexist?

Companies around the world complain of an increasing "skill gap" - fresh graduates are not equipped with the skills they need for success in the workplace, despite growing levels of educational attainment in most developed economies. This gap presents a challenge not just for employers, striving to attract the best talent to their organizations, but for governments and educators, tasked with designing and delivering the educational programs to prepare the next generation for the workforce.

At this event, some of Hong Kong’s top employers share their views on the skill gap – what skills they’re struggling to find in their new hires, how they evaluate candidates’ grasp of those skills, and how education might be able to better prepare young people for success in their organizations.

About the Speakers:

CHHOA Peck Lim Bella
Assistant Director – Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Company Secretary
Hang Lung Properties Limited

Ms Chhoa joined Hang Lung Properties Limited as Company Secretary, General Counsel and Assistant Director — Corporate Affairs in August 2011, where she oversees human resources, legal and company secretarial matters of the Group. She is also the Chairperson of Hang Lung’s Sustainability Steering Committee. Prior to joining Hang Lung as a key executive, she was head of the legal department and company secretary of two other companies listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited for a number of years.

The workforce of the Group has increased from 2,000 to nearly 5,000 since her joining the Group in 2011. To cater for fast development of the Group, she has revamped the management trainee program of the Group to build a pipeline for new talents. She has also brought in various changes to the Learning and Development division of the Group through structured design executive program to cater for executives’ developments including collaboration with Tsing Hua University and the University of Science and Technology of Hong Kong. The training hours of the Group were over 86,000 for 2015 and is expected to reach over 100,000 training for 2016.

Ms Chhoa is a solicitor qualified to practice in Hong Kong. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor degree in Law from The University of Hong Kong.

Nathan Khan - Enterprise Solutions Manager, LinkedIn

Connecting people and bringing professionals together has always been a passion of Nathan’s. As a previous headhunter for many years, Nathan now works at LinkedIn Hong Kong and focuses on connecting LinkedIn with professionals/companies within the various sectors including Education, Professional Services, Construction, Engineering & Gaming. Nathan believes in the concept of open networking and studies trends of employment data across the Hong Kong market using LinkedIn's power tools.Analyzing talent gaps, migration & trends is a critical part of Nathan's analytical work.

Selina Ko
Chief Human Resources Officer

Selina Ko is Chief Human Resources Officer of Manulife (International) Limited, responsible for developing people strategies and leading all strategic initiatives aligned with business priorities. She seeks to build a high performing culture and engaging environment to acquire, develop and retain talented employees. With a passion for nurturing potential and bringing out leadership qualities, Selina is committed to Manulife being the Employer of Choice.

Selina joined Manulife as Assistant Vice President, Human Resources, Asia in 2014. Prior to this she held a number of key human resources roles in Hong Kong, Japan and Greater China at country, regional and group levels. She is a well-seasoned professional with more than 20 years' international experience in various areas, covering retail, wholesale and private banking, technology, mergers and acquisitions, talent development, and leadership coaching.

Selina holds a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She is a certified strengths and team-effectiveness coach, NLP executive coach and an accredited mediator. She is also certified in practicing Facet5 and Hogan.