LCQ7: Manpower supply and demand situation of security services industry
22.3.2023

Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (March 22): Question: Regarding the manpower supply and demand situation of the security services industry, will the Government inform this Council: (1) whether it knows the manpower supply and demand situation of the security services industry in the past five years, including the number of employed persons, as well as the number and percentage of job vacancies; whether it has estimated the discrepancy between the supply of and demand for manpower in the security services industry in the coming five years, and assessed if the relevant manpower is sufficient to meet the market demand; (2) of the number of new applicants for a Security Personnel Permit to whom the Commissioner of Police issued such permit in the past five years, with a breakdown by the age group to which such applicants belonged; the current number of holders of a valid Security Personnel Permit; and (3) of the total number of security personnel training courses organised by various training providers in the past five years, and set out, by the name of such courses, the number of persons who enrolled in such courses, as well as the number and percentage of those who joined the security services industry after completing such courses? Reply: President, My reply to the question raised by the Hon Kwok is as follows: (1) According to the statistics (Note 1) of the Police Licensing Office (PLO), the numbers of persons employed to perform security work (including full-time, part-time and temporary positions) in the past five years were as follows: Year Number of persons employed to perform security work 2018 149 127 2019 156 906 2020 158 067 2021 158 003 2022 156 153 As regards information on the number and percentage of job vacancies in the security services industry, the Security Services Training Board (SSTB) under the Vocational Training Council conducts a manpower survey once every four years to assess the manpower supply and demand as well as training needs in the industry, and makes proposals on relevant measures. According to the 2018 Manpower Survey Report of the Security Services Industry (2018 Survey Report) completed by the SSTB last time, there were 5 558 vacancies, equivalent to a vacancy rate of 4.4 per cent (Note 2), in the industry in 2018. The SSTB has completed the latest 2022 Manpower Survey Report of the Security Services Industry which projects the manpower demand for the next four years on account of factors including industry outlook, manpower growth and wastage. It is expected that the report will be released in the second quarter this year. (2) According to section 10 of the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance (Cap. 460), a person who provides security services for reward in Hong Kong must hold a Security Personnel Permit (SPP) issued by the Commissioner of Police. According to the information of PLO, the numbers and age profile of new applicants issued with SPPs in the past five years were tabulated below. Age Number of new applicants issued with SPPs 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 18&ndash;20 1 332 (2.6%) 1 400 (2.4%) 1 192 (1.7%) 821 (1.5%) 717 (1.5%) 21&ndash;30 5 546 (10.9%) 6 158 (10.5%) 7 454 (10.5%) 5 343 (9.6%) 3 973 (8.4%) 31&ndash;40 5 364 (10.6%) 7 072 (12.0%) 9 536 (13.4%) 6 180 (11.2%) 5 304 (11.2%) 41&ndash;50 10 341 (20.4%) 14 119 (24.0%) 18 283 (25.6%) 12 307 (22.2%) 11 283 (23.8%) 51&ndash;60 16 976 (33.4%) 18 695 (31.8%) 23 135 (32.5%) 18 418 (33.2%) 15 588 (32.9%) 61&ndash;70 10 666 (21.0%) 10 709 (18.2%) 10 753 (15.1%) 11 370 (20.5%) 9 846 (20.8%) 71&ndash;80 552 (1.1%) 582 (1.0%) 911 (1.2%) 973 (1.8%) 602 (1.3%) Over 80 23 (0.0%) 25 (0.0%) 19 (0.0%) 20 (0.0%) 40 (0.1%) Total number of SPP holders 50 800 (100%) 58 760 (100%) 71 283 (100%) 55 432 (100%) 47 353 (100%) As at end February 2023, there were a total of 355 848 SPP holders in Hong Kong and 156 845 persons were employed to perform security work. (3) To enhance the quality of security services, the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority (SGSIA) launched the Recognition Scheme of Security Training Courses (the Recognition Scheme) to provide the public with information on the basic security training courses available in the market that meet the standards recognised by the SGSIA. The Recognition Scheme has a quality assurance system in place under which basic security training course providers and courses concerned are accredited and recognised by an independent organisation to ensure the quality of the courses. The numbers of recognised training providers and the basic security training courses concerned for each of the past five years were as follows: Year Number of training providers Number of courses 2018 70 86 2019 34 77 2020 47 94 2021 53 109 2022 56 107 Training providers will offer training courses having regard to market demand. We have not compiled information on the number of persons enrolled in the relevant courses and the number of persons joining the security services industry upon course completion. Note 1: According to section 13 of the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance (Cap. 460), a security company or an employer of security personnel shall within 14 days after the commencement/termination of the employment give written notice to the Commissioner of Police the name of the employee/former employee and the date on which the employment commenced/ceased. The PLO has compiled the statistics based on the information collected. Note 2: The vacancy rate concerned was projected based on the 2018 Survey Report which indicated that there were a total of 121 988 full-time employees. A "full-time employee" refers to an employee who receives regular pay, works at least four consecutive weeks a month and not less than 18 hours each week.