ViuTV recently aired the TV series "IT Dog", which tells the story of Hong Kong's "IT people (practitioners in the information technology industry)" in an exaggerated and funny way.
Tsang Chun-wah posted a post after the episode aired, expressing that he hoped that the audience would not only have a good time watching it, but also pay attention to the development of social innovation and technology.
What is the environment of "doing IT" in Hong Kong?
The following charts take a look at the current situation of the industry, the ratio of male to female employees, the distribution of employment areas, as well as labor and prospects.
The series is starring Ling Wenlong, Cen Jiaqi, Chen Hanna, Chen Zhanwen, Yu Yisi, and MIRROR members Yang Lewen (Lokman), Qiu Shijin (Stanley) and Chen Ruihui (Frankie).
According to the latest figures from the Census and Statistics Department, in the third quarter of 2021, there were over 56,000 people employed in "information technology services" and "information services" organizations in Hong Kong, including about 41,000 males and 16,000 females, with a male-to-female ratio. Close to 2.5:1.
The protagonist Ye Nianxin (played by Ling Wenlong) was originally the head of the IT department of the bank. After being fired, he went to the shared work platform "Bornhub". He met a new team and resolutely started his own business.
In fact, most of all IT practitioners in Hong Kong also work for companies in other industries such as financial institutions.
According to the 2018 survey by the Vocational Training Council, there are more than 95,000 "IT people" including freelancers in Hong Kong, of which about 40% work in non-IT industry organizations.
All IT employees accounted for 2.41% of the 3.98 million employed population in Hong Kong that year.
From the very beginning of the story, it is mentioned that the morale of the information technology department where the protagonist originally worked is low, because colleagues think that the company needs to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and they will attack their own department at any time.
But in fact, according to the job search website JobsDB statistics, even the junior programmers among the "IT people" earn an average monthly salary of 22,000 yuan (2021), which is 2,000 yuan higher than the average monthly income of Hong Kong people.
In addition, the labor increase of IT practitioners in 2022 is estimated to reach 3.7%, which is the highest among all industries.
Many scenes in "IT Dog" revolve around the "data port" modeled on the Southern District Cyberport. Comparing the 18 districts in Hong Kong, the Eastern District, Kwun Tong and Wan Chai districts have the largest number of people working in IT service agencies.