Vietnam is facing numerous challenges in its bid to improve humanresources and take advantage of the current period of "goldenpopulation", experts have said.
The term "goldenpopulation" means there are at least two people in the working age groupto take care of one dependent person.
According toDr Nguyen Dinh Cu from the Institute for Population and Social Studies,the current percentage of children under 15 in the Vietnamesepopulation stands at nearly 24 percent, while the proportion of peoplein the working age group is 66 percent.
At a recentconference held in Hanoi to discuss human resource development duringthe golden demographic period, experts noted that such a demographicstructure is rare in any country's history. This structure can last for amaximum of 40 years and can help make significant changes in thecountry's development, if it is used wisely.
Yet,concerns have been raised over the pressure to create more jobs for theyouth and the need to produce a better-trained workforce.
Dr Nguyen Sinh Cuc from the Statistics Association claimed the factthat the majority of the population is in the working age group does notmean all the people in this group are employed.
Healso said that while the Vietnamese workforce is young and willing towork, a large proportion of it comprises manual or unskilled workers.This poses a challenge to the authorities for improving the quality ofthe country's human resources.
"To produce ahigh-quality workforce to meet the present and future demand, we need astable foundation with a set of good policies in place, good publichealthcare and social insurance and an improved quality of education."
Cuc pointed out, however, that the national budgetallocation for these important sectors is not sufficient. The country'sinfrastructure is of average standard compared with other countries inthe region.
While international integration hasbeen viewed as a great opportunity for Vietnamese workers - an ASEANeconomic community (AEC) will be formed by the end of 2015 - it is also agreat challenge as they will face competition from young foreignworkers, according to Dang Ngoc Dinh, director of the Centre forCommunity Support Development Studies under the Vietnam Union of Scienceand Technology Associations.
Dinh stressed theurgency for improving the quality of the young workforce, adding thatthey needed to improve their communication and English skills as well astheir ability to work independently.
"These limitations have been barriers to employment opportunities among university graduates."
Dinh noted that the problem is particularly evident in the field ofscience and technology, where many high-value services such as systemsintegration for banks and financial organisations have been conducted byforeign companies instead of Vietnamese ones.
Hesaid the shortage of highly skilled professionals in the field was dueto the fact that colleges offered only general and basic knowledge andfailed to provide intensive and specialised training to make studentsaware of the most advanced technologies.
Le Van Duy, a demographic and statistical expert, holds the same opinion.
He mentioned a recent survey conducted by the National Institute ofInformation and Communication, which indicates that 70 percent of thegraduates with an information and technology major had to go throughre-training to meet the work requirements of enterprises.
This was the case among graduates in many other fields too.
Duy added that the workers in the research and development sector inVietnam are also lagging behind their counterparts in other countries inthe region such as Thailand or Malaysia. This was evident by the factthat the number of research papers published by Vietnamese researcherswas only about 20 percent and 10 percent of their Thai and Malaysiancounterparts' papers, respectively.
Duy, however,added that it was possible to improve the country's quality of humanresources in the scientific and technological sectors as thousands ofVietnamese have gone to developed countries to study in recent years.
He explained that upon their return, they couldcontribute greatly to the country's development if their skills wereused for the right purpose and if they receive favourable treatment asincentives.
He added that large enterprises shouldbe encouraged to set up laboratories for product development andresearch so that highly skilled workers have a playground and companiesare able to ensure better competition.
Regardingstaff arrangement, Do Thi Bich Loan from the Vietnam Institute ofEducational Sciences said Vietnam has so far failed to provide areliable forecast of the supply and demand for human resources in theeconomy in general and by different sectors in particular.
She stated that there was no specific information on sectors thatlacked human resources or needed more staff. Loan added that thequality of human resources had been uneven among different regions.-VNA
The term "goldenpopulation" means there are at least two people in the working age groupto take care of one dependent person.
According toDr Nguyen Dinh Cu from the Institute for Population and Social Studies,the current percentage of children under 15 in the Vietnamesepopulation stands at nearly 24 percent, while the proportion of peoplein the working age group is 66 percent.
At a recentconference held in Hanoi to discuss human resource development duringthe golden demographic period, experts noted that such a demographicstructure is rare in any country's history. This structure can last for amaximum of 40 years and can help make significant changes in thecountry's development, if it is used wisely.
Yet,concerns have been raised over the pressure to create more jobs for theyouth and the need to produce a better-trained workforce.
Dr Nguyen Sinh Cuc from the Statistics Association claimed the factthat the majority of the population is in the working age group does notmean all the people in this group are employed.
Healso said that while the Vietnamese workforce is young and willing towork, a large proportion of it comprises manual or unskilled workers.This poses a challenge to the authorities for improving the quality ofthe country's human resources.
"To produce ahigh-quality workforce to meet the present and future demand, we need astable foundation with a set of good policies in place, good publichealthcare and social insurance and an improved quality of education."
Cuc pointed out, however, that the national budgetallocation for these important sectors is not sufficient. The country'sinfrastructure is of average standard compared with other countries inthe region.
While international integration hasbeen viewed as a great opportunity for Vietnamese workers - an ASEANeconomic community (AEC) will be formed by the end of 2015 - it is also agreat challenge as they will face competition from young foreignworkers, according to Dang Ngoc Dinh, director of the Centre forCommunity Support Development Studies under the Vietnam Union of Scienceand Technology Associations.
Dinh stressed theurgency for improving the quality of the young workforce, adding thatthey needed to improve their communication and English skills as well astheir ability to work independently.
"These limitations have been barriers to employment opportunities among university graduates."
Dinh noted that the problem is particularly evident in the field ofscience and technology, where many high-value services such as systemsintegration for banks and financial organisations have been conducted byforeign companies instead of Vietnamese ones.
Hesaid the shortage of highly skilled professionals in the field was dueto the fact that colleges offered only general and basic knowledge andfailed to provide intensive and specialised training to make studentsaware of the most advanced technologies.
Le Van Duy, a demographic and statistical expert, holds the same opinion.
He mentioned a recent survey conducted by the National Institute ofInformation and Communication, which indicates that 70 percent of thegraduates with an information and technology major had to go throughre-training to meet the work requirements of enterprises.
This was the case among graduates in many other fields too.
Duy added that the workers in the research and development sector inVietnam are also lagging behind their counterparts in other countries inthe region such as Thailand or Malaysia. This was evident by the factthat the number of research papers published by Vietnamese researcherswas only about 20 percent and 10 percent of their Thai and Malaysiancounterparts' papers, respectively.
Duy, however,added that it was possible to improve the country's quality of humanresources in the scientific and technological sectors as thousands ofVietnamese have gone to developed countries to study in recent years.
He explained that upon their return, they couldcontribute greatly to the country's development if their skills wereused for the right purpose and if they receive favourable treatment asincentives.
He added that large enterprises shouldbe encouraged to set up laboratories for product development andresearch so that highly skilled workers have a playground and companiesare able to ensure better competition.
Regardingstaff arrangement, Do Thi Bich Loan from the Vietnam Institute ofEducational Sciences said Vietnam has so far failed to provide areliable forecast of the supply and demand for human resources in theeconomy in general and by different sectors in particular.
She stated that there was no specific information on sectors thatlacked human resources or needed more staff. Loan added that thequality of human resources had been uneven among different regions.-VNA
