Taiwan is top destination for Vietnam labourers abroad
Taiwan received 15,106 Vietnamese guest labourers in the first six months of this year, accounting for nearly 47% of the total number of Vietnamese labourers going abroad for overseas jobs.
Taiwan was followed by Japan, where 3,341 Vietnamese are working. At least 2,492 labourers are working in Malaysia.
In the first half of the year, 33,216 Vietnamese workers were sent abroad under contracts signed by Vietnamese firms and other their foreign partners, up by 1.6% compared to the same period of 2012, according to the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).
Despite 2013 forecasts of economic downturn, traditional markets have opened their doors for Vietnamese workers, says Dao Cong Hai, deputy chief of DOLAB.
Taiwan is expected to receive over 20,000 Vietnamese labourers, while Japanese will take 9,000 this year, up from 7,000 in 2012.
In addition, other markets, including Qatar and the Middle East, are also attractive to Vietnam workers. More than 85,000 local workers will be sent to these countries this year.
To realize the set targets, DOLAB has increased the number of Vietnamese workers in traditional markets, while at the same time looking for new markets.
In the first quarter of this year, the department sent workers to Malaysia and the Middle East, including United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. It also for the first time sent Vietnamese nurses to Japan and Germany.
Language barriers remain the biggest difficulty for Vietnamese labourers in accessing markets that require high-quality workers.
MOLISA has mapped out a project to support Vietnamese labourers working abroad under contract.
Under the project, each poor labourer from rural areas would be provided with VND3 million for vocational training, and VND3 million for foreign language courses. They would also receive financial support to help cover other expenses before they go abroad.