Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
The Planning and Development Division is one of the six divisions of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS). It now numbers about 62 professional members known as “Professional Planning and Development Surveyors” (or P&D Surveyors) who serve in both the private and public sectors in Hong Kong.
Established in 1984, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) is the only surveying professional body incorporated by ordinance in Hong Kong. As of 1 August 2014, the number of members reached 8927, of which 6049 were corporate members, 66 were associate members and 2812 were probationers and students. HKIS work includes setting standards for professional services and performance, establishing codes of ethics, determining requirements for admission as professional surveyors, and encouraging members to upgrade skills through continuing professional development.
If you’re feeling stuck in a rut at work or think that your career is not progressing at the pace you would like it to, it’s time to ask your employer about the opportunities available within the business to “stretch” or develop your skills through hands-on involvement in projects or tasks.
For many Hong Kong engineers who finished secondary school in the 1970s, choosing a career path was straightforward. Having picked the science stream in secondary school, aspiring youngsters who did not like their chemistry or biology as much as their maths and physics would choose engineering rather than the medical sciences in university. Ir Victor Cheung, however, did not have that choice. Growing up the son of a cook, he seemed destined for a life in a commercial kitchen too – until two mentors stepped in.
Did you know Engineering is all around us? Construction of buildings, roads, railways, bridges, production of printing machines and the design of computer games programmes are all Engineers’ contributions. Even the pen in your hand involved the work of Engineers.
The Engineering Society of Hong Kong was founded in 1947 with the aim of bringing together engineers of different Disciplines for their common good. The Society flourished and as a result the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (the HKIE), was incorporated under the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Ordinance, Chapter 1105 of the Laws of Hong Kong in 1975. Adapting to the needs of engineers in Hong Kong, the Institution continues to develop and expand.
If you’re a senior manager with aspirations to lead a company, you’d do well to look beyond the bounds of your…
I recently attended the Echelon Tech Conference 2014 held in Singapore. It is the largest gathering of investors, venture capitalists, private equity funds, incubators and creative entrepreneurs from all over Asia who are passionate about creating and discovering the next generation of disruptive businesses that will change the status quo of business models. The event attracted big guns including representatives from Google, Twitter and AirBnB. Eduardo Saverin, one of the original five co-founders of Facebook, was spotted scouting around the show.
Becoming a financial controller can be a springboard to a management position. Finance directors and higher executives increasingly rely on financial controllers to assume responsibility for internal finances.
Hong Kong CPAs with financial controller experience can expect to be in demand. Chris Choi, an Institute member, is part of an emerging “flying squad” of financial controllers who parachute into new or distressed companies at the request of private equity firms, risk consultancies and others in need of sound advice.
To help meet the demand, the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs is planning to launch a financial controllership course in 2014 to accelerate the transition from auditor to financial controller.
Many mountain climbers visiting high altitudes for the first time would be eager to know more about their Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) susceptibility in advance. Although various tests like VO2 Max, SO2 at simulated altitude are derived, the correlations are weak and are not good predictors for AMS vulnerability.