Vietnam needs competent technicians and engineers who could produce high-quality goods and ensure operational efficiency in a bid to increase the country’s economic competitiveness, Head of the Economic Board of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, Nagai Katsuro, said in a workshop in Hanoi on November 4.

The Vietnamese Government has adopted a number of policies and implemented projects to develop human resources. However, the supply in high-skilled human resources does not meet the labour market’s demands, which is a pressing concern, Cao Van Sam, Deputy Director of the General Vocational Training Department, said.

Effective cooperation between the State, businesses and workers would even out the discrepancies and accelerate industrialisation and economic integration, which both rely on value-added products and strong support industries, Sam suggested.

In order to become a highly skilled economy, it is necessary to establish social partnerships between different stakeholders, including vocational training institutions, industry, and the Government, according to the Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mori Mutsuya.

JICA expert Junichi Mori explained that reducing the imbalance between the demand and supply of skilled labour required the suppliers to focus on the particular skills needed in each industrial sector. Furthermore, proposals should be made by research institutes and international donors for capacity building programmes.

The Government needs to provide more support for businesses to develop human resources training programmes, which should be updated in terms of content and the specific skills required, he added.

The workshop was jointly organised by JICA and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.-VNA