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employment requirements in HK

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  1. #1

    employment requirements in HK

    My wife and I are considering moving from Australia to Hong Kong to live. My wife is a Hong Kong girl and her parents are aging. We are both in our mid 30's. My wife has been in Australia for about 12 years.

    I have no university qualifications. I am a State Sales Manager/Account Manager in Australia for a large dairy food manufacturer and have been in the food service industry for about 10 years in total now. I am really concerned about my job prospects in HK given that I have no university qualifications. It seems, by looking at all the recruitment pages in HK; that all employers require a tertiary education. Ideally I would be looking for a similar sales/account management role, or something similar; in HK.

    Can anyone give me some advice on weather I would have any chance of gaining employment in HK? It's really worrying me. Interested in hearing from other people who do not have a university education but have been succussful in getting employment in HK.

    Many thanks.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Hong Kong
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    34

    Hi Aaron, I'm no expert in HK having only been here for a year, but my impression is employment opportunities here are mostly in finance and legal. Hence you could consider account management in a financial institution (probably stressful). Try looking up job boards and/or recruiters such as Robert Walters, Morgan Mckinley etc.

    Another thing to consider is that a fairly high income is needed to maintain a good quality of life in HK. This is different to Australia where the minimum standard of living is already good. In HK, you will be forgoing a lot of physical space, and the access to the outdoors and to sports. So look up some salary surveys, and rental prices (which is the main expenditure) to understand the financial side of things.

    Unfortunately I cannot say much more regarding your question but I'm sure that there are others on this forum who are better-informed than I am in this respect. Hope you get a more helpful reply soon.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Shek Tong Tsui (HK Island)
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    Dairy Farm

    do look at www.jobsdb.com.hk and use the "advanced search" then put in the keyword "dairy" ... it comes up with a lot of jobs in the dairy industry, so that may give you some estimations on the job market for the milk products.

    Also, ask around your work contacts in the milk industry about this company: The Dairy Farm Company Ltd

    They are the biggest distributors of milkrelated foods in hong kong. I just pulled a description from jobsdb below...:

    Dairy Farm is a leading pan-Asian retailer. At 31st December, 2011, the Group and its associates operated over 5,400 outlets; employed over 85,000 people and had total annual sales exceeding US$10 billion. The Group operates supermarkets, hypermarkets, health and beauty stores, convenience stores, home furnishings stores and restaurants under well-known local brands. Dairy Farm is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

    Good luck!


  4. #4

    Thanks for the informative replies. I know its going to be a hard slog as not too many expats would take the road of moving to HK and finding a job. I am guessing 95%+ would have been transferred here with the company they work for and they are afforded the luxury of their children's education and also relocation expenses and provided in most cases with accommodation. None of these free kicks will be coming our way.

    I didn't mention in my initial post that I have a HK Identity card and a PR Visa. My wifes Dad has a government flat on HK island. So when we come here at least it would be more attractive for an employer to take me on as a local rather than an international hire. I feel the best way to make this work is for my wife to move back here first with the 2 kids (2 & 4), stay with her Dad, get the kids into school and then get herself a job and be stable here while I stay back in Australia. After about a year or so I then come back here to join her. I would be a dependant and at least there would be 1 wage coming in.

    I know its expensive here to live, but at least initially wife and kids stay with Dad and that would be saving some money before we end up buying a property here.

    What are peoples thoughts on this scenario??


  5. #5

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    Feb 2009
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    Without knowing very much, but with 2 young kids I personally think you'd be better off staying in Aus and seeing if you can get the aging in-laws to retire in Australia!


  6. #6

    That would be complicated beyond belief. Her parents are divorced and can't stand each other. So if they both came to Australia they wouldn't live together. Plus they can't speak any English and only like to come and go staying with us, separately; for 3 months at a time. To be honest our lifestyle in Australia is much better than the life we would be living here, especially for the kids. But my wife feels obligated to be here to care for her parents. They are healthy and mobile now, but in 5-10 years time who knows.....


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    434

    You are running the risk of sacrificing your children’s happiness (and maybe your own too) for that of your in-laws. It’s sad how parents cart their children all around the world and claim it’s ‘character-forming’ – frankly, you sound too considerate a person to be doing that.


  8. #8

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    Sarcasm - because beating the crap out of people is illegal
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    PR visa? You mean a PR HKID?

    Never mind... it's a shame your wife has decided that being with her parents is more important than her children's health and well-being. That's tough.

    The question is language skills - yes/no? Cantonese/Mandarin? I think for the kind of positions you would be looking at Chinese language would be a must, with both reading and writing. I'm guessing yes.

    As for the education, some employers demand a degree, although I can't figure out why for many jobs. For the more 'enlightened' ones, experience outweighs a piece of paper. But still apply for the ones asking for a degree; you can usually can around this in the cover letter. However, is there any chance of getting a certificate or diploma in the next 12-18 months?

    Try to start networking before you move, during visits here. Networking can produce better results than recruiters.

    Last edited by Claire ex-ax; 13-12-2012 at 11:23 AM.
    Fiona in HKG likes this.

  9. #9

    i agree with Claire, being that you already have a fairly senior position for a large dairy manufacturer and 10 yrs experience in the industry, ask your bosses and network with your colleagues in the industry if there are any job openings in HK.
    Without a degree and the local language, coming here without a job could be fruitless.


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by araucaria:
    You are running the risk of sacrificing your children’s happiness (and maybe your own too) for that of your in-laws.
    Dont you mean the other way around? The adults will be far more affected by this rather than a couple of toddlers who dont know any better.
    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    it's a shame your wife has decided that being with her parents is more important than her children's health and well-being.
    WFT is wrong with raising kids in Hong Kong? One of the reasons we stayed was for our kids. The safety and opportunities here are excellent.

    Quote Originally Posted by aaron246:
    Thanks for the informative replies. I know its going to be a hard slog...
    Does your wife have any good/marketable skills?
    Realistically, so far, I havent heard anything to put on the plus column but lots of things for the negative column....
    chingleutsch likes this.

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