Financial Secretary John Tsang says the Government will invest heavily in nurturing talent.
Delivering his 2016-17 Budget today, Mr Tsang said expenditure on education for 2016-17 will be $75 billion, accounting for 21.5% of recurrent government expenditure.
He said Hong Kong needs a pool of talented people, especially those familiar with innovation and technology and equipped with professional skills.
"The talents must have broad horizons and a solid grasp of international affairs so they can contribute towards the diversified development of Hong Kong as a knowledge-based economy and help open up new markets."
The Enriched IT Programme in Secondary Schools will offer students internship at technology enterprises.
To encourage university graduates to enter the innovation and technology field, the Government will increase the monthly allowances of the Internship Programme under Innovation & Technology Fund. Plus, it will increase internship places on the Mainland and in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Mr Tsang said the Government will also further encourage continuing education.
It will provide a tuition fee subsidy to part-time students of designated professional programmes offered by the Vocational Training Council for three cohorts from the next academic year.
"Programmes in the disciplines of construction, engineering and technology will be covered. The total commitment will be $200 million, benefiting 5,600 people."
It will also strengthen professional training for the construction, retail and financial services industries, he added.
