Vietnam is expected to take as many as 600 skilled laborers to Italy for the first time this year according to a pilot labor contract signed between the AIC Company and an Italian partner.
Accordingly, 50 nurses, doctors and technicians will be sent to work in the European country in June, said AIC Director Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan.
"Although Italy began opening its labor market to Vietnam in late 2005, these will be the first workers sent to Italy from Vietnam," Nhan emphasized.
Italy is a favorable destination for overseas contract labor because workplace protection laws are advanced, incomes are high (US$3,000 per month on average) and residents are not averse to foreign workers.
However, Nhan added local laborers still face difficulties obtaining entry visas. She noted that the requirements for imported laborers are higher than in other countries.
Presently, AIC is seeking measures to better manage Vietnamese laborers in Italy to prevent them from fleeing.
AIC is the first private company in Vietnam that exports manpower to Italy, but at a price of US$6,000 deposit, Nhan said, adding that the company would also send manual laborers to the market.
In 2005, Vietnam sent as many as 70,500 new workers abroad, a 5 percent year-on-year increase. It targets to take 75,000 laborers to foreign countries and territories this year.
Currently, some 400,000 Vietnamese laborers are working in 40 countries and territories, with a total annual income of US$1.5 billion. The communist country targets to send more and more workers to 50 countries and territories worldwide in the upcoming time.
Transport, Vietnam Panorama
Vietnamese
