Building High-Quality Human Resources in the Context of Integration

In the digital era and international integration, the competitive advantage of each locality is no longer determined primarily by natural resources or geographical location, but increasingly depends on the quality of its human resources. For Phu Tho, building a workforce with professional qualifications, vocational skills, innovative capacity, and the ability to adapt to new technologies is becoming a crucial foundation to enhance productivity, attract investment, and participate more deeply in global value chains.

Following its consolidation, alongside advantages in transport infrastructure, industrial park systems, and an increasingly improved investment environment, the province’s demand for high-quality human resources has also become urgent. Reality shows that when selecting investment locations, many high-tech enterprises not only care about land funds or preferential policies, but also thoroughly evaluate the supply capacity of technical labor, engineering teams, experts, and a workforce possessing digital skills.

Students of Vinh Phuc College of Engineering and Technology during an electrical practice session.

Therefore, human resource development is identified as one of the strategic breakthrough steps for the province. The Draft Resolution of the Provincial Party Executive Committee on human resource development for the 2026–2030 period, with a vision to 2045, emphasizes: Developing human resources, especially high-quality human resources, is the decisive factor in raising labor productivity, competitiveness, and growth quality; simultaneously, it must be tightly linked with science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and the ability to work in international environments.

In reality, the province’s human resources still face limitations. Labor productivity remains disproportionate to potential; the proportion of workers with high professional qualifications is still modest; and human resources catering to high-tech sectors, supporting industries, logistics, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence have not met development demands. These are also bottlenecks that restrict local businesses from participating deeply in global value chains.

Mr. Lee Seung Hwan—Administrative and Human Resources Director of Jahwa Vina Co., Ltd. (Khai Quang Industrial Park)—stated: “Enterprises do not lack unskilled labor, but rather lack workers skilled in operating automated equipment, capable of using foreign languages at work, and adapting quickly to new technologies. The quality of human resources will determine the locality’s attractiveness in drawing high-tech projects.”

An electronic components manufacturing workshop at Jahwa Vina Co., Ltd. (Khai Quang Industrial Park).

As many international corporations restructure their supply chains, recruitment demand for technical labor is growing steadily. Beyond automation, mechatronics, and information technology engineers, enterprises need a workforce proficient in digital skills, working under international procedures, possessing innovative mindsets, and capable of continuous learning. This places an imperative to shift strongly from training based on educational institutions' capacities to training based on labor market demands.

Phu Tho sets targets by 2030: trained labor rate reaching 80%–85%, with workers holding degrees or certificates reaching 40%–45%; labor productivity increasing by an annual average of over 12%; digital economy accounting for approximately 30% of GRDP; training and upskilling 5,000 experts, engineers, and technicians with knowledge and skills in artificial intelligence applications; and raising the proportion of workers equipped with basic digital skills to 90%.

The above targets aim not only at improving human resource quality, but also at creating a foundation for Phu Tho to transition toward a growth model driven by productivity, innovation, and high added value.

A notable point is that the province identifies vocational education as holding a pivotal role in human resource development. No longer a closed training model, vocational education is oriented to link closely with enterprises—from curriculum building and practical training organization to post-training recruitment. This is a trend applied by many developed nations to bridge the gap between training and labor utilization demands.

Dr. Ha Vu Tuyen—Rector of Vinh Phuc College of Engineering and Technology—remarked: “Today’s workers need not just a single trade, but the capacity to adapt to various technologies. Thus, training programs are being innovated toward increasing practice, digital skills, foreign languages, and soft skills, while being updated regularly according to enterprise requirements...”

Not only focusing on training, the province also aims to build a modern human resource development ecosystem. This includes constructing a unified human resource database, applying artificial intelligence in forecasting labor supply and demand, developing electronic job exchanges, establishing innovation centers, and fostering cooperation between training institutions, enterprises, and international organizations. These are long-term solutions that lay the groundwork for a modern and flexible labor market.

According to Comrade Nguyen Khac Hieu—Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, the sustainable competitive advantage of a locality in the coming time will rest not in natural resources, but in people. When possessing a workforce with digital skills, foreign language proficiency, creative thinking, and lifelong learning capabilities, the locality will enjoy ample opportunities to attract high-quality investment and participate more deeply in global value chains.

It can be seen that amidst increasingly deep international integration, developing high-quality human resources is the shared responsibility of the entire political system, the business community, and society as a whole. From innovating vocational education and strengthening linkages among the State, schools, and enterprises, to attracting talent and fostering innovation, all efforts are directed toward building a workforce fully capable of fulfilling new development requirements.

If in the past, a locality’s advantage was measured by natural resources or geographical location, today and in the future, advantage is measured by the quality of human resources. Investing in people is therefore not only an investment in the present, but a strategic investment laying the foundation for Phu Tho to elevate its competitiveness, embrace new opportunities of the digital economy, and affirm its position in the process of international integration.

Quang Nam