‘We need to train talent’: will Hong Kong’s applied sciences universities fix manpower crunch or fall flat amid lingering ‘second class’ label?

Hong Kong graduate Luka Chow had been an accountant for five years and was about to be promoted to manager when he decided he wanted to work in healthcare instead.

He signed up for a new four-year degree programme at Tung Wah College (TWC), a private institution, and was among its first batch of physiotherapy graduates last year.