The government on Thursday said it has seen an uptick in students applying for civil service jobs, after it loosened recruitment rules in June.

Under the loosened regulations, third-year students can now apply to work in the civil service.

Speaking to lawmakers, civil service minister Ingrid Yeung said thousands more students have applied for jobs in the customs and immigration departments this year compared to last year, thanks in part to the new policy.

The minister added different departments will keep close contact with third-year university students, and provide them with work opportunities while they are still studying.

She also noted that this is part of many approaches adopted by the administration to attract young recruits, adding that about 60 percent of the government's 10,000 annual recruits are 30 or younger.

Responding to unionist councillor Kingsley Wong, who said civil servants here should be sent to the mainland to serve there temporarily, Yeung said that a relevant exchange programme will start soon.

"We first target mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. We will continue to work with the Guangdong province to sign an agreement to see how we can chart our way forward," she said at a public service panel meeting in the legislature.

"I pin very high hopes on this, on telling the good stories of Hong Kong. We can also acquire working experience on the mainland and bring it back to the SAR."

DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam, meanwhile, said officials should promote recruitment exercises on the mainland as many Hongkongers studying there want to join the civil service.

The minister responded by saying that departments like RTHK have contacted renowned schools on the mainland for promotion and recruitment.