Labour exporters are being offered more opportunities as many overseas markets are receiving increasing numbers of Vietnamese workers and making changes in their policies to lessen the financial pressure on them.

Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that well paying markets such as the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan choose Vietnamese workers first out of other 15 markets.

“Many RoK and Japanese employers prefer to hire Vietnamese workers due to their diligence, hard-work, creativity and eagerness to learn,” said Ngan.

She added that many employers feel more secure when hiring Vietnamese workers as their sense of responsibility has improved and the number of fled workers has dropped sharply.

Some markets have also introduced policies to ease the financial pressure on workers. Currently guest workers are exempted from income tax in Malaysia and do not pay deposits in Japan.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Doan Xuan Hung said that Vietnamese guest workers send up to 2 billion USD a year home.

In addition to licensed businesses, successful tenders, organisations and individuals investing overseas should be promoted. At present, Vietnam has sent only 3,060 guest workers in this manner, Hung said.

He emphasised that the African market is short of experts in healthcare, agriculture and education, in which Vietnam is strong. With a monthly salaries ranging from 5,000 USD to 10,000 USD, Africa is a huge potential market for Vietnam to speed up the export of specialists and highly-skilled workers.

National Assembly’s Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that in the near future, labour exports should be more specialised, to raise economic efficiency and the country’s image.

He emphasised that the African market is short of experts in healthcare, agriculture and education, in which Vietnam is strong. With a monthly salaries ranging from 5,000 USD to 10,000 USD, Africa is a huge potential market for Vietnam to speed up the export of specialists and highly-skilled workers.

According to the Overseas Labourers Management Department, over 500,000 Vietnamese are now working in 40 countries and territories all around the world./.