The Mekong Delta—encompassing Can Tho city and 12 provinces—aims to raise the proportion of trained workers to 49 percent in 2015, a 2.5 percent increase from 2014, said the Steering Committee for the Southwest region.

To achieve the target, the localities will restructure their education systems and develop training styles relevant to local conditions, such as opening short-term courses in residential areas or publishing job skill knowledge through mass media.

They will publish communication activities to encourage locals to enrol in vocational courses and offer training on business demand, the committee said.

It added that local authorities will prioritise vocational trainings and job openings for ethnic minorities, impoverished individuals, and households whose farmland was reclaimed.

About 187,000 people, including 121,000 from rural areas, attended vocational trainings in the Mekong Delta last year.

The region currently has 181 establishments specialising in vocational training, with 186 other facilities also offering vocational courses such as universities, junior colleges, job centres, businesses, and associations, according to regional statistics.

The Mekong Delta covers a total area of about 40,000 square kilometres with a population of 18 million, and is a major aquaculture region and the largest rice production hub of Vietnam.-VNA