In the bowels of an industrial building in Hong Kong, Eric Pun was among two dozen people crammed into a classroom learning to drill holes – and picking up new skills before heading abroad.

Smart companies have started offering crash courses in subjects like home repairs and hairdressing, and are benefiting from a wave of people leaving Hong Kong as China cracks down on dissidents and tough pandemic rules upend the economy.

For Pun, a 35-year-old nurse who immigrated to Australia with his family, taking the home repair course was both a practical cost-saving measure and a way to mentally prepare for the unknown.

“If there’s a problem in Hong Kong, you can go to the property management office or hire someone from the mall … but when my family lives in a house, I have to rely on myself,” he told AFP.

A day at Renobro, one of the few companies that offers home repair classes, costs HK$1,980 ($250) and classes fill up weeks in advance, according to company co-founder and instructor Lau Chun-yu.

“More than a thousand people took our course,” Lau said.

“When we started, we didn’t expect so many people to emigrate.”

Lau said his students, who are mostly in their 30s and include doctors and teachers, go through a one-day curriculum of more than 40 skills, such as: B. Caulking, plastering and rewiring of devices.

“Most of them are not well prepared, but … they hope to cross over as soon as possible,” he said, citing fears that foreign countries could tighten immigration controls in the long term.

Hong Kong is currently experiencing an exodus of local and foreign talent.

Many residents have dismissed Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent following large and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests three years ago.

Strict zero-Covid rules remain in effect two and a half years after the pandemic began, restricting daily life and isolating the city internationally.

The latest census figures showed a record decline in Hong Kong’s population, which fell 1.6 percent year-on-year to 7.29 million. The number of people in work has fallen to 3.75 million, the lowest level in almost a decade.

Many of those leaving are families with school-age children.

Official elementary school numbers released earlier this month showed there were 70 fewer classes in 60 schools this school year. More than 4,000 teachers gave up their jobs last school year.

The UK became one of the top destinations for Hong Kongers after announcing a visa system that offered a route to citizenship, arguing Beijing had abandoned its pre-handover promise of granting residents important freedoms and autonomy.

Since launching in January 2021, more than 140,000 people have applied to the UK scheme so far.

Other common choices for resettlement are Canada, Australia and the United States, reflecting a similar wave of emigration that occurred before Hong Kong’s handover from Britain in 1997.

Despite their optimism about life abroad, many would-be emigrants told AFP they were concerned about job prospects and wanted more skills than insurance.

Fashion retailer Kimi Chau, 35, has been taking a series of hairdressing courses to prepare for her move to the UK with her husband and five-year-old.

“I want to be ready for a job after I arrive… If I could learn more skills before I leave, I would be more confident if the opportunity came up for me to start a business,” she told AFP.

Chau said her concerns about Hong Kong’s education system amid a changing political climate prompted her to leave the country.

“Because I have a child, the subject felt closer and it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.”

On a muggy August afternoon, Chau and other hairstylist students brought friends and family to the salon, where they took their classes for an informal graduation ceremony and bittersweet farewell.

Instructor Jason Yip said the hairdressing industry has a relatively low barrier to entry and Hong Kongers can get jobs quickly, adding that about a third of its students plan to emigrate.

Yip added that many of his students value the social dimension of hairdressing to stay close to family members and connect with like-minded Hong Kongers.

“For them, (hairdressing) can become a kind of hobby, and they are very happy about it after arriving in a new place,” Yip said.

“That kind of joy is shared and there is a sense of accomplishment.”