Labour Export in 2012: Higher Quality in the Spotlight

Currently, Vietnam’s key manpower import markets like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have about 200,000 Vietnamese guest workers, accounting for about 40 percent of its total guest labourers in 40 countries and territories in the world. In 2011, with the efforts of competent authorities and labour export companies to expand traditional markets and seek new ones, Vietnam managed to send over 88,000 workers to foreign countries, equal to 101.15 percent of the full-year plan, and up 2.9 percent from 2010. Major markets like Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia needed more Vietnamese guest workers than in 2010.

 

According to DOLAB, manpower export is more favourable in 2012 as the demand in traditional markets increases and new markets are opened up. Especially, Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese, and Malaysian economies are still expanding and they need more migrant workers, including Vietnamese. Recently, Japan agreed to receive a large number of high-paid nurses and midwives from Vietnam. South Korea also plans to import 15,000 workers from Vietnam with a lot of incentives, of which its manufacturing industry need 11,700 people, construction industry needs 1,000 people, agricultural sector needs 1,000 people, and fishery sector needs 1,300 people. The Libyan market plans to resume importing Vietnamese workers from June 2012 after an interruption.

 

Notably, Malaysia permits some 140 Vietnam companies to send migrant guest workers to the country where there are now some 200,000 Vietnamese guest workers. The Government of Malaysia recognises the value of Vietnamese human resources; it always considers Vietnam a potential labour supplier and pledges to create favourable conditions for migrant workers by simplifying paperwork, diversifying working environments, ensuring security and safety for foreign workers, and helping them adapt quickly to local habits and taboos. Currently, Malaysia is in need of about 10,000 foreign workers with a monthly pay of US$300 - 600.

 

Given general advantages, especially in traditional markets, the DOLAB expects to have 100,000 workers sent to work abroad this year. But, this target is not easily achieved because global job markets are quite volatile and the demand for manual workers declines. Foreign markets tend to recruit more guest workers with high-level professional skills, while most Vietnamese workers are proven to be weak at professional skills and foreign languages. This reality necessitates long-term consistent fundamental solutions.

 

Mr Nguyen Luong Trao, President of Vietnam Association and Manpower Supply (VAMAS), said there was an urgent need to train Vietnamese labourers with working skills to enhance their competitiveness and meet requirements of foreign markets. Besides, manpower suppliers necessarily keep track of and envisage foreign market demands for skills, levels of workers to have suitable training programmes. Besides, workers need to be trained with legal knowledge and employment laws in the countries where they will work.

 

Mr Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, Director of DOLAB, said: Apart from stepping up vocational training in accordance with the national training system, DOLAB will support manpower suppliers to train workers to suit requirements of foreign employers. The department will encourage companies to build their own vocational training units. At the same time, it will enhance State management over labour export, step up inspection, and strictly handle violators. It will also focus on applying measures to prevent and handle fraud in manpower export.

 

It will implement measures to provide as many workers as possible to reviving markets, expand existing markets and seek new ones. Remarkably, the country will increase sending workers for industries that require more working skills than before, like service and healthcare services.

 

Deputy Minister of MoLISA Nguyen Thanh Hoa said: the ministry has required concerned parties to follow up developments in foreign countries to quickly receive new manpower export orders, especially from markets with less political turmoil and higher pay. The ministry will seek ways to export manpower to potential countries such as Australia, Canada, Bahrain and the Czech Republic.