Tutor program for HK learners starts

They will take their apprentices to their workplaces so that they may experience business culture at close quarters, as well as employing them as an assistant for a day to get direct work experience.

"The plan offers us a platform for comprehensive and objective understanding of mainland financial development," says Tsinghua University student Mao Yi.

"We look forward to communicating with the tutors to lift our overall quality and competitiveness, and to contribute to the mainland's and Hong Kong's financial development."

Mao believes she'll definitely benefit from the internships offered by the program.

Peking University student Tang Yali signed up for the program.

"Through two years of learning and internship, I got to know that Beijing is home to the headquarters of a great number of financial institutions, which means more opportunities and challenges," Tang says.

"I'd like to use this opportunity to fully understand the mainland's economic development and fit into the mainland's financial industry."

The global financial industry is rapidly changing, and understanding it requires a lot more than just knowledge gleaned from textbooks, explains Ma Shuo, who's a member of the All-China Financial Youth Federation. Tutors with work experience of more than a decade will be a great complement to what students learn in school and will help make the realities of the industry vivid for them, Ma says.

It is hoped that the program will grow to cover more academic fields in the future, says Gracie Foo, the director of the Beijing Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.