Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said plans to import workers will be announced shortly in a bid to ease labour shortages in certain sectors.

Speaking to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said it is important to tackle the problem as Hong Kong returns to post-Covid normality, saying it could affect the city's economic development and competitiveness.

The CE said the scheme is not meant to be long term and will stick to the principle of protecting the job security of local workers.

He said the government only plans to bring in workers for sectors that have seen manpower shortages, adding their wage levels will not be lower than the median income of local staff.

Lee said the scheme will only be ancillary in nature and authorities will nurture and attract local talents by stepping up vocational training and improving the working environment.

The CE said the government had listened to views of various sectors, adding it values the role of the Labour Advisory Board on handling manpower issues.

"In the course of making all these assessments, the policy bureaux and the responsible officials have been talking and listening to views by representatives of different sectors," he said.