The industrial professionals we spoke to were all proficient in technological development and production management. Some of them started their working lives as apprentices, eventually going on to become masters or mechanics. Gradually, our industrial professionals rose through the ranks as they were promoted to workshop supervisors or department heads. Having studied specialist industrial disciplines in Taiwan, Japan, Europe or the United States, some even had higher education qualifications. Returning to Hong Kong after graduation, they became engineers in production management and research and development departments. Many of our industrial professionals focused on spinning, electronics and other emerging post-war industries which had a high technical threshold. Companies back then which had strong capital had the ability to invest in advanced machinery and establish separate research and development departments. These professionals strongly identified with their industries and had a passionate interest in production, pursuing cutting-edge ways to improve efficiency. As branching out by setting up their own businesses was not a top priority, such technological adept individuals generally stayed in positions of technical research or product development with their employers.