Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said the government would step up training and manpower planning for nurses to meet rising demand that was being driven by an ageing population. Locals are always given priority in recruitment, he stressed, pointing out that 99.8 percent of nurses employed by the Hospital Authority were trained in Hong Kong. Lee noted the Hospital Authority still had more than 3,000 nursing vacancies and that more than a quarter of some 4,000 nursing graduates this year had applied for jobs in the private sector. He dismissed concerns that nursing graduates are struggling to find jobs. “Every industry has instances where individuals choose not to apply for a job upon graduation due to personal reasons or where applicants are not recruited due to an organisation's own needs," Lee said. "But society's need for nurses always exists, especially since Hong Kong's healthcare system is continuously progressing alongside an ageing population. "So the recruitment figures will ultimately reflect these ongoing needs." Lee acknowledged that views vary within the community on how hard it is for nurses to find jobs but expressed hope that everyone would keep Hong Kong’s overall development in mind and work together to strengthen training and manpower planning for nursing staff. Edited by Tony Sabine