Electrical engineering has been playing an important role in Hong Kong industry and commerce since the 1950s. The Hong Kong economy has been changing proactively and electrical engineering has also shifted its emphasis from manufacturing-oriented in early stage to service-oriented later on and developed into a high value-added industry, hoping to keep pace with some of the economic powers (developed countries). While many industries did not survive the economic changes as they could not follow the development, the electrical industry always keeps abreast of the time and has diversified its development as Hong Kong did. Nowadays, electrical engineering has become an indispensable part of different sectors. In the past, it was more a project engineering than a service engineering industry. But now, with its deep and profound scope of service, the electrical engineering branch is as much a service engineering industry as it is a project engineering industry. The industry, therefore, is still important to the future development of Hong Kong. The electrical engineering branch has a history of more than a hundred years in Hong Kong. In the past, during the economic surge of Hong Kong and the bloom of the manufacturing industry, electrical engineering courses were offered by the universities. The industry has laid extremely great emphasis on on-the-job training for long, and many organizations have their own comprehensive, versatile and systematic training mechanism. Nevertheless, if there is integrated and systematic staff competency training for all related organizations, it will certainly give greater benefits to the enhancement of the staff competency and the standard of the Industry.

Hong Kong has become a financial centre in Asia, with an undeniable international status. However, Hong Kong's success today is definitely built on the long-term silent endeavours of a group of enthusiastic and enterprising professionals in various sectors. The electrical engineering team has created for Hong Kong an efficient, stable and competitive electricity network system. In the era of information explosion in future, a stable electricity system will play an important part in the operation management of the commercial world in Hong Kong, implying that the electrical engineering branch will bear a greater responsibility.

The development of the electrical engineering branch has been relatively stable and adaptable to the economic impact. Notwithstanding the economic downturn in the past, qualified persons are always required by government's infrastructures and constructions as well as the private sector to perform periodic maintenance, repairs and inspection on all kinds of electricity systems in compliance with the statutory requirements. Electrical engineering talents, therefore, are always in demand no matter what economic cycle we are in. The industry also enjoyed the prosperity of the economic development. The demand for electrical and mechanical engineering personnel becomes greater as the economy of Hong Kong recovers in recent years. It is expected that relevant projects will create a large number of electrical engineering job opportunities, making the industry an ever growing one.

The surge of Mainland's economy has opened up new opportunities for local electrical engineering personnel. As people's living standard rises, business opportunities in Mainland are found everywhere. The good picture of heavy industry, light industry and manufacturing industry, etc. has attracted many manufacturers to invest in the Mainland, thus invisibly consolidating China's status as being the world's factory. It can be seen that the demand for related technical manpower will become stronger in order to cope with the development of the industries. Backed by China and facing the world, the elite of the electrical engineering branch in Hong Kong will be an ideal choice for many Mainland manufacturers that intend to enter the international market.

The world trend of environmental protection helps in absorbing new blood of the electrical engineering branch. Awareness in different industries becomes higher for effective use of energy. So improvements in electricity system and R & D for new technologies are necessary, which directly stimulates the manpower demand in this field.

Nowadays, although individual universities, training institutes or some large enterprises have provided pre-employment technical or on-the-job training courses related to electrical engineering branch, these courses cannot fully cater for the development of the electrical engineering branch in different domains. As a result, for the frontline practitioners in some domains like technical staff, designers and maintenance technicians, etc., they in general can only learn from their experienced colleagues or masters to deal with common routine work upon employment. Along with the downfall of traditional "apprenticeship" system, quite many practitioners become unable to fully master formal professional knowledge and the application of new technology related to the Industry.