Development Secretary Bernadette Linn said on Sunday that the government is helping the construction industry to hire professionals from outside of Hong Kong to overcome a shortage of engineers, architects and surveyors.

Writing on her official blog, she cited figures from the Construction Industry Council showing a shortfall of 4,000 professionals in the sector, which is expected to rise to 6,000 in the next few years.

She said the Development Bureau worked with engineering-related associations and chambers of commerce to host recruitment activities earlier this year in the UK, with 10 universities in participation.

She added that the bureau also collaborated with local construction engineering companies last year to visit 10 universities in the mainland to attract talent.

Linn said recruitment work on the mainland and in the UK had resulted in 127 non-local graduates being hired.

She said local graduates would still get priority as the government continues to seek talent from elsewhere.