Improving the quality of labour force to enhance prestige

Last year, as many as 85,546 Vietnamese workers were sent to work abroad under time-limit contracts.  Of their number, 28,499 got jobs in Taiwan; 8,628 in the Republic ; 4,913 in Japan; 11,741 in Malaysia; 5,903 in Laos; 5,241 in the United Arab Emirates; 5,242 in Libya; 2,729 in Saudi Arabia; 3,124 in Macau, 1,204 in Bahrain; 3,615 in Cambodia and 4,725 in other markets.

As a result, Vietnam reached 100.64 percent of the labour export target set for 2010.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and MOLISA Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan talking with Vietnamese labourers in Lybia

Maintaining traditional labour markets

According to the Deputy Head of the Overseas Labour Management Department, Dao Cong Hai, labour export businesses are now focused on sending workers to stable markets as they have set up good relations with partners, which can ensure steady jobs for them.

Last year, while the world economy was not out of its financial crisis Vietnam’s labour market share remained stable, even expanded in some countries such as Libya, Macau and the United Arab Emirates. Its traditional markets such as Japan, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea continued to receive large numbers of Vietnamese workers.

Many Vietnamese workers returned to Malaysia after a two-year hiatus. In 2010, 11,741 of them worked in Malaysia, up 320.52 percent over 2009.

The Malaysian Department of Immigration says, around 87,000 Vietnamese are working in Malaysia with modest incomes between VND3.5-6 million per month.

When asked about the Korean market, the Deputy Director of the Overseas Labour Centre under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), Vu Minh Xuyen, says Vietnam is one of the 15 countries that have sent the largest numbers of workers abroad under the Employment Permit System (EPS). Korean employers are keen to receive Vietnamese workers who are believed to be quick-witted and hard-working.

Last year, Vietnam and the RoK organised three Korean language tests for Vietnamese people wishing to work in the RoK. This year, the RoK will continue to provide more quotas for guest workers, including those from Vietnam under the EPS.

Improving labour quality

Apart from advantages in 2010, Vietnam still faced a lot of difficulties and challenges as the global economy has not fully recovered from the crisis.

Mr. Vu Minh Xuyen

According to the Overseas Labour Management Department, the number of Vietnamese guest workers is growing but they still lack professional and language skills and sense of labour disciplines. In addition, some new labour export businesses are unable to explore new markets.

In 2011, the Department will finalise draft agreements on labour cooperation with some foreign countries, including Belarus, Libya, Macau, Romania and Israel. It will continue to cooperate with the Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate an agreement on immigration control with France and complete a market project with Israel. The Department will also build a project to manage the markets having workers employed under individual contracts and review the implementation of the law on sending Vietnamese workers abroad.

At a conference to review last year’s labour export activities, the MoLISA said labour export part of the scheme to create jobs, increase incomes and reduce poverty but localities have paid no or little attention to it. The quality of Vietnamese labour force remains low far from meeting requirements for foreign language, professional skills and labour disciplines mentioned in contracts signed with foreign countries. Many organisations and individuals’ defrauds, illegal money collection have caused concerns among the public.

In the near future, the Department will coordinate with other agencies to regularly supervise the quality of labour exports. It will ask businesses to focus on vocational training for workers before sending them abroad and work closely with local authorities to continue the project aimed at helping 62 poor districts boost labour exports, which has been implemented for two years.