Vietnam seeks to better skill of labour force

Hanoi (VNA) – Many domestic and foreign investors have expressed concern about shortcomings in skilled labour, which is needed to help recover and expand production and business, especially in industrial sectors, according to Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung.

Under the impact of the fourth industrial revolution, simple jobs are decreasing, and labourers are required to have more specialised and high skills. In that context, the low percentage of trained labourers (only 26%) is a significant challenge for Vietnam in maintaining the labour supply-demand balance in the market.

Vietnam's labour market is witnessing drastic changes, including significant challenges related to skill requirements for labourers and the shortage of skilled workers.

These changes make it increasingly difficult to balance supply and demand in the labour market, especially in positions that require high skills.

Pham Tan Cong, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said Vietnam is still in the golden age of population structure. Still, the quality of labourers is poor and the percentage of labourers with degrees and certificates reaches only 26%. Worse still, most labourers have limited skills and low income and have not yet met the requirements of employers and the market.

The Report on Provincial Competitiveness Index 2021 (PCI 2021) by VCCI shows that when businesses have an alternative or expanded recruitment plan, the group of labour that businesses can easily recruit is workers and unskilled labourers (62%), followed by the group of accountants (42%), technical staff (25%), and managers and supervisors (20%).

The managing director group (15%) is the most difficult to hire. This shows that the higher the skill requirement, the harder it is to recruit workers.

Tsai Wen Tsung, General Director of Pouyen Vietnam Co., Ltd, which has invested in Vietnam for nearly 30 years, said that in the time of technology, young labourers have many career opportunities and can get closer to different service industries.

In the future, the firm will focus on accelerating production automation and information digitisation, adding that it has a demand to recruit many local skilled workers in mould engineering, automation, and information technology.


The official emphasised that the manufacturing industry's upgrade and digital transformation will depend heavily on high-quality labour resources, especially in the labour shortage of the leather and footwear industry.

Training high-qualification human resources

Vietnam is currently the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the region and one of the few ASEAN member countries that has maintained stable FDI growth over the years.

FDI enterprises always need high-quality human resources who can apply new technologies in production, thus increasing labour productivity, Dung said, adding that if Vietnam does not focus on improving the quality of human resources in the coming time, it will gradually lose attractiveness to foreign investors.

To realise the goal of the 10-year socio-economic development strategy in 2021-2030 on developing a flexible, modern, sustainable and integrated labour market, attention must be paid to building and creating a modern labour supply with high quality and more sustainable to the job demand, the minister stressed.

Agreeing with the view that it is necessary to focus on training high-quality human resources, Tsai Wen Tsung said education is the strongest supporter of the development of the economy.

Training high-quality human resources helps Pouyen Vietnam increase job opportunities for domestic workers. Therefore, he said it is vital to build vocational schools, adding that professional skills and science and technology are important to create a stronger basic technical foundation for the manufacturing industry.

Experts said the Government's Resolution and the labour market development strategy will need to clarify the labour market structure by region, thus developing appropriate human resources training plans.

Ingrid Christensen, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Vietnam, said jobs requiring high skill account for about 12% of the total employment in Vietnam. However, Vietnam's aim to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030 means the number of high-skill jobs will double.

Dr Juergen Hartwig, a German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ) representative, said that the rapidly changing market structure will require more and more skills. Therefore, Vietnam must have flexible, forward-looking, and evidence-based policies to develop an appropriate labour market at an early date./.