Hong Kong’s Employees Retraining Board will work with major technology companies to offer professional artificial intelligence courses to working people from November 2026, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on August 23. The courses are intended to help residents adapt to rapid technological change and its effects on the labour market.
The initiative forms part of the HK$50 million “AI training for all” programme allocated in the 2026 Budget. The programme aims to organise more than 200 activities during 2026 and 2027, with an expected reach of about 50,000 people or attendances. The supplied reports do not make clear whether that figure refers to unique individuals or total attendances.
Cyberport, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and the Hong Kong Productivity Council are involved in delivering or supporting activities for workers, students and the general public. Various training activities had already begun by August 23.
The Productivity Council is focusing in part on small and medium-sized enterprises. At the Computer and Communications Festival, it and nearly 30 partner companies demonstrated applications linked to artificial intelligence and digital transformation, including cybersecurity, online legal arbitration, omnichannel AI chatbots and business-information solutions.
Chan said emerging technologies and their applications were still developing and would create challenges for the labour market. He called for faster preparation, including developing skills earlier and giving young people opportunities to apply those skills and gain workplace experience.
The Productivity Council also plans to continue an AI-related workplace or business-readiness survey over the next two years to inform more targeted support. The reports use different names for the survey, however, and do not establish whether they describe the same initiative.
Chan said strong global demand for advanced electronics and artificial-intelligence-related products had contributed to better-than-expected economic growth in Hong Kong in the first half of 2026, as well as several consecutive quarters of high double-digit export growth.
The November course launch is the next concrete step announced for working residents. The supplied material does not yet specify the participating technology companies, course names, eligibility requirements, fees, format or application arrangements.