Illustrative image (Source: Internet)

The shrinking global labour market is making it hard for Vietnam to fulfil the task of sending 90,000 workers abroad in 2012, equivalent to last year’s figure. Priority will be given to exploiting key markets.

Vietnam has sent large numbers of guest workers to Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Malaysia. In the context of global economic slowdown, many solutions have been introduced to boost labour export to these markets.

Key markets

The Japan International Training Cooperation Organisation (JITCO) and the Overseas Labour Management Department held a workshop in mid February to share information and put forward solutions to make their labour cooperation program more efficient.

In 2012 Japan is expected to be a promising market for receiving Vietnamese trainees, particularly for agricultural production. The country has high demand for foreign trainees working in agriculture to address the labour shortage in this sector which was seriously affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunamis.

Many Japanese businesses want to employ foreign nationals to work in the agricultural sector which is relatively appropriate for Vietnamese nationals, said a JITCO representative.

An official from the Overseas Labour Management Department revealed that the number of workers Japan could recruit to this sector is unlimited, depending on negotiations between the two sides.

JITCO announced the results of its recently conducted survey detailing the expectations of current Vietnamese guest workers due to return to Vietnam shortly after their contracts terminate.

The survey shows that most trainees want to work for Japanese-invested companies in Vietnam, while some want to start up their own businesses in the area in which they are trained in Japan.

JITCO said it has met with Japanese businesses, which have been operating in or plan to operate in Vietnam to discuss the possibility of receiving Vietnamese returnees.

Last year, Vietnam sent nearly 7,000 technical trainees to Japan, up 142 percent against 2010. The number of labour contracts signed with Japanese companies remains high and is expected to increase in the near future, said the Vietnamese representative.

Within Asia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Malaysia are Vietnam’s traditional labour markets. More than 200,000 Vietnamese trainees are working in these markets, making up 40 percent of all Vietnamese guest workers currently working in more than 40 countries and territories around the globe.

Solutions

To boost labour exports, the department will prioritise increasing the quality of the labour force and focus on labour needs in recovering markets. Notably, it will exploit untapped areas which are in dire need of labour, such as those that require high levels of skill, and in the service and healthcare sectors. A case in point is a pilot program to send nurses to Japan.

The recruitment process will be thoroughly carried out, taking into account trainees’ desires and workmanship to ensure that they meet the requirements of the recipients.

Labour export businesses are advised to cooperate with vocational schools and vice versa to develop appropriate training courses. They should keep abreast of overseas market demands to renew modes of training in order to meet the requirements of the recipient countries.

Another important task is to strengthen foreign language teaching at training centres to ensure that trainees are able to use the language in basic communication and daily life.

“Before sending trainees abroad, we will equip them with knowledge of the legal system of the recipient countries so that they can have a command of labour laws of their resident countries,” said Ta Quang Minh, head of the labour export division of Saigontourist.

To strengthen labour management, the department has asked Vietnamese companies to send representatives to labour recipient countries to support the workers and deal with issues arising during their stay./.