The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs had set the goal from 2017-2020, each year was estimated to export about 100,000 - 120,000 labors to go work in foreign countries and about 80% of them had gone through training. In order to achieve this goal, improving labors’ skill is considered the most efficient solution. Labor exporting was still able to maintain at a high growth rate.
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Looking back at the result of recent years, labor exporting had witnessed relatively stable and steady growth. In 2017, the number of exported labors had reached its peak at 134,751 labors, exceeded 28,3% of the year’s goal. This was the 4th year in a row Vietnam was able to export over 100,000 labors per year.
2018 was also a successful year in terms of export labors. The estimated number of labors who was exported was over 140,000. Taiwan and Japan currently are still our main market for labor exporting (accounts for more than 90% of the total number of workers working abroad). According to the assessments of the Department of Overseas Labor, these are the 2 markets that have high demands for employing Vietnamese labors. The Taiwan market is considered to be still the market that accepts the most Vietnamese laborers to work. Alongside Taiwan, Japan is also considered a market with a lot of potential, diverse professions and has high demand for Vietnamese laborers. In particular, this is one of the markets with good working conditions and income, which many Vietnamese workers are interested in and registered to participate in.
In addition, some markets have a need to recruit new groups of occupations that Vietnam is able to adapt well, such as nurses, midwives and laborers in a number of agricultural fields. , aquaculture, skilled labor with high technological knowledge, creating many job opportunities for workers when choosing the option to work abroad. Recently, some European markets are in need of receiving foreign workers such as Hungary, Romania, Poland, Norway... initially invited to cooperate with Vietnam in the field of healthcare and nursing.
It can be seen that the activities of sending workers to work abroad have achieved certain results, the amount of laborers exported increases by the years, not to mention the quality of the laborers is also non-stop improving, business activities gradually come into order. With a good source of income, many laborers were able to improve their living conditions after returning home. The report on thematic monitoring of Vietnamese workers working abroad (in the period of 2010-2017) of the Committee on Social Affairs shows that, in the period 2010 - 2017, the whole country has 821,862 employees who work abroad under contract. The number of workers working abroad increased sharply in high-income markets such as Japan (up about 461% compared to the period 2010-2013), Taiwan - China (up about 183%), Middle East (an increase of about 120%). In which, the Taiwan market attracted the most labor and remained stable at a high level.
According to monitoring results, workers working abroad often have higher and more stable incomes than domestic workers with the same occupation and qualifications. The average income (including overtime) of workers working abroad is 400-600 USD/month in the Middle East market; 700 - 800 USD/month in Taiwan market; 1,000 - 1,200 USD/month in Korean and Japanese markets. Every year, the amount of money workers working abroad send back is about 2-2.5 billion USD.
It is necessary to do a good job of connecting labor export enterprises with vocational schools
According to data from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there are currently about 500,000 Vietnamese workers working in more than 40 countries and territories with more than 30 occupational groups. Since 2006 up to now, more than 1 million Vietnamese workers have gone to work abroad. The quality of the exported labor force has been gradually improved. At the end of 2003, the number of laborers who received vocational training before going to work abroad was only about 35%, but now this rate has reached over 50%.
According to experts, in traditional labor markets such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, employers are very fond of recruiting Vietnamese workers because of their ingenuity, hard work and quick adaptation. In the context of our country's deeper and deeper integration with the world and the region, Vietnamese workers, including highly qualified workers, have more and more opportunities to work abroad.
However, according to the general assessment, our labor force is still weak in foreign languages, skills are not suitable for the requirements of the market and not used to industrial working style. Currently, nearly 50% of export workers are unskilled workers. This also causes many concerns about the quality of the current export workforce.
Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Center for Forecasting Human Needs and Labor Market Information in Ho Chi Minh City. According to Mr. Tuan, if the training to improve the quality of export labor is not well done, Vietnamese workers will not be able and qualified to meet the requirements of the partner, leading to failure to fulfill their duties, causing damage, breach of contract, adversely affecting the reputation of labor export enterprises and the labor export strategy of Vietnam.
Mr. Tuan proposed pilot ordering vocational training for workers to work abroad. In which, the state supports 70% of vocational training costs for employees, enterprises or employees bear the remaining 30% of costs. This is to encourage workers to learn a job before going to work abroad, thereby increasing the proportion of skilled workers when leaving the country, creating competitiveness and gradually building a Vietnamese labor brand in the market. international School.
The forecast of labor export demand by 2020 is very large. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has set a target that from 2017-2020, each year it is expected to send from 100,000 to 120,000 laborers to work abroad, of which about 80% of workers have been trained. To achieve this goal, the improvement of qualifications and skills for workers is considered a top solution. Therefore, the role of vocational education institutions is extremely important in the training of labor resources to work abroad.
In order to improve the quality of Vietnamese laborers to work abroad, according to the leader of the Department of Overseas Labor, the first priority is to do a good job of connecting labor export enterprises with vocational schools in order to improve the quality of Vietnamese workers for recruiting and training workers, giving priority to investment in each socio-economic development program and project of each locality, region and industry associated with vocational training programs and projects for export labor. At the same time, develop a plan to bring Vietnamese workers to participate in investment projects, services or commercial activities to improve knowledge, accumulate experience, and practice high professional skills to meet the needs of potential markets for labor export.
In order to avoid rampant training, which is not true to the actual workforce demand, vocational education institutions need to connect with relevant units in the supply of labor resources to go abroad, specifically the requirements from businesses, especially standards, languages, skills, attitudes, and cultural behaviors typical of countries and regions. The more prepared workers are, the easier it is for them to adapt and stick with the business.
To improve the quality and opportunities for Vietnamese workers to work abroad, there must be a "handshake" between schools and enterprises. Businesses need to provide schools with more programs to study and work in each market so that the school can include enrollment information and vocational training advice. On that basis, the school recruits students and organizes training under the cooperation and companionship of enterprises from the very beginning and throughout the training process, thereby helping students to perform well in their studies and labor. At the same time, the school promotes links and cooperation with labor export companies to solve output by sending interns or exporting labor... With this form, students as soon as they graduate, they can go abroad to continue studying and working in a professional environment, improving their skills. When they return home, they are a high-quality human resource thanks to the convergence of foreign languages, skills, professional working style, management experience, opening up a new opportunity for themselves as well as serving the society.