Keeping up with the labor export market trends

Proactively keeping up with global labor market trends, focusing on exporting trained and talented professionals to work overseas is progressively becoming a promising approach, adding to the efficacy of Phu Tho province’s present labor export efforts.

Phu Tho College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering students in the industrial electrical internship class.

Strengthening vocational training

Since the beginning of the year, the number of personnel sent to work in various markets, such as Japan and Taiwan (China), has declined compared to prior years. Mr. Dinh Nhan Quy, Director of Recruitment at An Binh International Cooperation Joint Stock Company (Hanoi), shared: Since the beginning of the year, the company has only dispatched around 350 personnel to Taiwan (China) and 130 workers to Japan to work in construction and industries, a 10% decrease from the same period last year. These two markets are shifting to alternative labor supply marketplaces because they believe Vietnamese workers have low-quality abilities.

Faced with this fact, many labor supply units have prioritized skill training above exporting people to other nations, particularly at vocational schools. Phu Tho has 30 vocational education establishments, including 22 public establishments (6 colleges, 2 intermediate schools, 14 centers) and 8 private establishments and FDI enterprises; 11 key vocational training establishments, 4 international key occupations, 10 key occupations at the ASEAN regional level, and 24 key national occupations; 59 occupations at the college level, 71 occupations at the intermediate level, 101 occupations at the elementary level, and training less than 3 months.

In recent years, Phu Tho College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering has consistently been recognized as one of the units that achieves high efficiency in training and collaboration to provide results for students. The school aggressively ties training to companies in two ways: Businesses put orders and work together to advise on enrollment and training at the institution. Some companies that have long worked with the school include Minh Cuong Mechanical - Construction - Trading Joint Stock Company and TLS Group... Every year, the school plans to send all pupils away. Experience and internship in production at companies and factories; Regularly coordinate with the Center for Employment Services - Vocational Education (Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs) and Thanh Ba District People’s Committee to organise a job exchange, attracting hundreds of businesses to participate in recruitment for over 1,000 positions jobs in the following industries: Information technology, industrial electricity, accounting, welding, automotive technology, electronics..., with many orders going to work in Japan, RoK, Taiwan (China), Australia...

Mr. Nguyen Thai Viet, Director of the Admissions and Job Introduction Center at the Phu Tho College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, shared: Many nations, including Germany and other Eastern European countries, have recently seen an increase in their labor demands. To fulfill the recruiting demands of these markets, the school has prioritized strengthening the quality of instruction in all 13 training vocations, particularly major national and worldwide jobs. At the same time, emphasis on extending the time for practical experience activities, developing complementary skills, learning about the working environment, local culture of Germany, Japan, RoK, and so on. This allows students to have the quickest access when beginning a new job.

The Hwaseong City (Korea) team visited Phu Tho Vocational College to hear about vocational training programs for exporting workers.

The double advantages

In reality, boosting the deployment of qualified and skilled professionals to work overseas has benefited both workers and the economy. When skilled and high-quality workers travel overseas to work, their wages will be significantly greater than those of unskilled and untrained individuals. According to current labor supply company survey data, the average monthly wage (including overtime) of unskilled Vietnamese laborers working overseas is between USD400 and USD600 (VND9.5 - 14.3 million) in the Middle East market, and USD700 - USD800 (VND16.6 - 19 million) in Taiwan (China). However, experienced workers might earn between VND50 and VND70 million per month (in Germany) or VND52.8 and VND66 million per month (in Australia). Thus, skilled and high-quality workers will earn more and be able to save more.

On the other hand, when these workers return, they will be a key source of supply for businesses since they are not only competent, but also have experience and a feeling of discipline from working in a professional work environment abroad. This is a resource for businesses to encourage the use of technological breakthroughs and to create a disciplined and successful working environment; at the same time, it is a chance for people to continue working with a solid income without having to “leave their home country”.

Ms. Nguyen Hien Ngoc, Head of Employment - Labor Safety Department, Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, stated that the province has had 819 personnel working overseas on contracts since the beginning of the year (115.9% over the same time). Trained individuals who return from working overseas possess professional skills, foreign languages, and a strong sense of discipline, making them easily welcomed by local enterprises. To improve the quality of labor export, Phu Tho province’s Vocational Education and Training Employment Service Center has promoted job transaction sessions, connecting with recruiting businesses and consulting organizations for over 14,000 visits, introducing workers who want to work abroad on contract.

The highlight of the work of sending workers to work abroad in recent years has been the market development, which has created more employment prospects for workers in European nations such as Hungary, Greece, and Poland, Slovakia, and Croatia... The number of workers entering new marketplaces tends to rise with time. To improve the efficiency of sending trained and skilled workers to work abroad, it is necessary to carry out well the work of selecting and training workers in terms of expertise and skills profession, foreign language proficiency, and sense of discipline, thereby creating a position for Vietnamese workers abroad. At the same time, devise a strategy for bringing workers into investment projects, services, or commercial operations to increase knowledge, gain experience, and exercise highly professional abilities in order to best fulfill the demands of future labor export markets.

Furthermore, it is critical to effectively connect labor export firms with vocational education institutions throughout the enrollment, training, and recruiting process. Enterprises must supply vocational education institutions with more experience, study, and work programs in each market in order to keep enrollment and training programs current. Vocational education institutions must make efforts to increase training quality while satisfying corporate requirements, particularly professional skills, foreign language competence, and students' feeling of discipline. To effectively implement this issue, local governments and authorities must work with vocational education institutions and businesses to promote information work, propaganda, and the dissemination of policies and laws on vocational education and training labor export activities; have financial support policies in place so that workers can study, improve their qualifications and abilities, create jobs to provide a stable source of income, and contribute to social security.

Thanh Tra – Truong Giang