A property-services sector representative on Friday urged the government to raise the quota for imported labour in the industry, saying it is plagued by an ageing workforce.

Since the launch of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme two years ago, the government has given the green light for the sector to fill more than 3,000 posts with non-local labour as of the end of last month.

About two-thirds have arrived.

Poon Kin-leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Property Services Agents, said the sector used to face a manpower shortage of 40 percent.

"Even with the import of labour so far, we are still facing a manpower shortage of 15 percent," he said.

"For private housing estates, if a person walks in and applies for a security guard position, we will mostly hire him. There is a shortage every day.

"For janitors and security guards, many of them are retiring, and it's difficult to get newcomers. Locals who come forward are definitely older ones. So I think we need to do more to import labour. Even a 20 percent increase in quota isn't too much."

Chen Zhiyuan from Guangdong is among those working as a security guard in a private housing estate since early this year.

He noted that there were cultural differences as well as language barriers with residents, so he would turn to senior staff for help and attend training classes to help him with the job.

The estate applied to join the scheme after failing to fill vacancies with local job ads.

Wong Hiu-kwan from the estate's property management company said imported staff have helped to cut costs by up to 20 percent.

She also said locals and imported workers can complement each other. For instance, younger imported staff could be responsible for patrolling, as many local staff are aged over 60.

With the scheme coming to an end in September, the Labour Department said it is carrying out a review to enhance the programme, including safeguarding employment priority for locals, as well as measures to ensure foreign workers' rights and interests.