The southern province of Dong Nai is still short of a large number of skilled workers for foreign direct invested (FDI) projects as they are set to start operating in 2014, a local official said.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Lam Nhu Tin said that many of the 150 new and capital-added FDI projects last year in Dong Nai will vie for skilled work hands as they will start operation or expand production this year.

From now to 2015, FDI businesses will need nearly 120,000 workers and around 260,000 labours between 2015 and 2020.

Tin said that the province can meet only more than 40 percent of the need for trained workers from now to 2020, that is why businesses will have to source labour from other localities.

To tackle this problem, the province’s vocational schools are required to reform their curriculum programmes and be equipped with more practice facilities so as to enhance trainees’ capacity, he added.-VNA