A concern group for construction site safety on Thursday said authorities could consider using Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) records as a more reliable way to verify workers’ employment histories.

The suggestion came after the anti-graft agency ICAC said it arrested 148 people for allegedly using fake qualifications to obtain excavator operator and electrician licences, which involved applicants attending phony courses, and receiving documents claiming they attained the required work experience.

The chair of the Hong Kong Institute of Safety Practitioner’s Education and Training Committee, Lee Kwong-sing, said people are seeking shortcuts to obtain licences to improve their job prospects because the construction industry is doing well.

The expert also pointed out that there is a loophole in the current way work experience is verified, in which only an employer’s letter is required.

"If authorities required MPF contribution records, it would be much harder to fake qualifications. Applicants would need three to five years of records to qualify, which requires long-term planning," he said.

"But that's not the case now. At the moment they can just verify using an employer's letter, which seems a bit casual."

The Labour Department said 100 excavator operator and 32 electrician licences have been revoked so far.

Simon Tang, co-founder of home decoration consultancy Deco Academy, told RTHK that unlicensed electrical work might lead to improper installations and high repair costs.

"For the installation part, if the lines are just installed in the concrete directly without passing through the plastic pipe, when there is water leakage, for example, then it may cause high repair costs and it may cause danger for the residents," he said.

Tang said an electrician's licence is often needed for those carrying out home renovation work, but the authorities don't always scrutinise these licences.

"The checking is a very selective process. So they do not check every case. And also, they do not scrutinise all details. Basically, they do not scrutinise every submission. And there's no penalty if the submission is not successful," he said.