Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung

Talent is of paramount importance to the success of Hong Kong’s economy. The flexibility and creativity of our logistics talents provide the indispensable driving force for promoting and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international logistics hub. To commend young talent who have made remarkable contributions and display exceptional potential in different areas of the logistics industry, the Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards is formally established this year, and nomination is now open for the three award categories.

Logistics together with trading is one of Hong Kong's four pillar industries. In addition to the experiences passed down by seasoned professionals, the continuous development of the industry also needs new blood to bring in new technology and innovation. While some may think that the industry still remains at the traditional business-to-business (B2B) level, or even mistake it as a sunset industry, Hong Kong’s logistics sector has in fact never stopped going innovative, and is of high relevance to each and every one of you. Think of the daily necessities you order on a local website which appear at your door in just two days, or various products you buy from Mainland or overseas platforms which arrive in a week’s time, or the fresh and reasonably priced sashimi on your dinner table in a Japanese restaurant tonight… all these are made possible by our logisticians, including many young talents who put our industry on the path to smart and high-value logistics.

To commend such upcoming young logisticians and attract more young people to join the trade, the Transport & Logistics Bureau advocated in last year’s Action Plan of Modern Logistics Development that Hong Kong’s logistics industry players should introduce an annual award targeting young logisticians. This award has since come into being on August 3 as the Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards.

Injecting New Impetus into the Logistics Sector

The Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards is co-organised by various sectors of Hong Kong’s logistics trade with the support of the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council. It aims to recognise young talent in the logistics industry who have made significant achievements and shown remarkable potential in innovative, high value-added, smart and green logistics and, through the successful stories of the award winners, to enhance the understanding of the public (in particular the young generation) of the new development directions of modern logistics so as to encourage them to join the industry to propel its continual growth.

Accolades for Exceptional Performances

There are three award categories in the 2024 edition of the Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards, including the Emerging Talent Award, the Young Professional Award and the Young Executive Award that are open to newcomers to the industry, young professionals at operational and middle management level, and young executives at senior management levels, respectively. Nominations must be submitted by Hong Kong-registered companies or organisations with logistics as their core business, and will be assessed by a judging panel composed of senior executives of major companies in the trade and representatives from the academia from the perspectives of professional accomplishments, individual contributions and commitment to the logistics industry, and efforts in self-development, leadership and innovation, to select the deserving awardees.

Last chance for nominations

Young logisticians would not have thrived in the trade without nurturing by the companies or organisations they serve. The Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards 2024 therefore does not only commend the fine young talents in the logistics industry but also their employers who have raised them up. As such, no matter whether you are the management of a logistics company or the director of a professional body of the trade, I sincerely invite you to seize the opportunity to put up the bright young logisticians you know for nomination for the Hong Kong’s NextGen Logistician Awards 2024, the deadline for which has been extended from September 1 to September 8 on the trade’s request. With just two weeks left, submit your application now via this link, and let us all celebrate the new stars of logistics and inspire the coming generations for more!

Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung wrote this article and posted it on his blog on August 24.