Addressing the event, MOLISA Deputy Minister Dao Hong Lan highlightedchallenges facing Vietnam’s economy that are brought about by the globalisationprocess and the technology revolution.
He said the world has witnessed enormous leaps forward ininformation and communication technology, internet, automation, and the digitalrevolution based on knowledge and artificial intelligence, but Vietnam has laggedfar left behind regional and international nations.
As of 2016, 79.4 percent of the total 54.36 millionlabourers in the country do not receive any training, and there is a big qualitygap between the urban and rural workforces, the Deputy Minister said, addingthat at the same time, vocational training has failed to meet market’s demand.
Major industries critical to economic growth such as mechanicalengineering, electronics and electrical engineering suffer from seriousworkforce shortages, according to Lan.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said the economy’s major industries such as garment-textile,footwear, and electronics are still relying on low-skilled workforce.
Therefore, labour market reform must be the most importanttask to enhance the Vietnamese economy’s competitiveness and ensure jobs forlocal workers, he said.
Loc called for businesses to join human resource training, bylinking up with training establishments to provide high-quality vocationaltraining.
Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation ofLabour Mai Duc Chinh was of the opinion that Vietnam needs to enhance labourproductivity and promote technology application in production.
For his part, ILO Deputy Director for Asia PacificCountries David Lamotte suggested Vietnam strengthen coordination amongpolicy-makers, employers and training institutions to modernise the vocationaltraining system to better prepared for changes in workplaces.
He also called for incentives to encourage young peoplepursue science- technology, engineering and mathematics.-VNA