Vietnam lacks labourers
Vietnam will still face a shortage of labourers in 2007, especially high-grade managers and workers for industrial zones, analysts say.
IZs short of popular workers
It is estimated that from now to 2010, industrial zones (IZ) and export processing zones (EPZ) alone will need some 500,000 labourers, while the existing training establishments can meet 15% of the demand only.
The shortage of popular workers for industries has been seen for the last year. Tran Thien Tu, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Association of the Enterprises in IZs, has made a comparison to describe the labour shortage. In the past, there were always 100 candidates for just one position, but the situation is quite different now: there is only one candidate while enterprises want 100.
The 15 operational IZs and EPZs in the city are planning to employ 51,750 labourers, including 38,295 popular workers. These labourers will work in the electric, electronics, textile and garment, footwear, mechanics, rubber and plastics and food processing industries.
The IZs in Binh Duong province are expected to employ 20,000 labourers in 2007, 85% of which are popular workers, who will work in garment, wooden furniture processing, electrics and electronics fields.
Demand for managers on the rise
Analysts have warned that the demand for high-ranking labourers will increase as Vietnam has joined the WTO.
According to Nguyen Minh Hoa, Director of the Urban and Community Development Research Centre, managers for banking and finance, telecommunications, transport, hotels and restaurant services will be in big demand.
Meanwhile, according to Than Van Hung, Director of NIC, a human resources consultancy company, companies began rushing to find high-ranking labourers in 2006, and the high-ranking official shortage will occur again in 2007.
Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the HCM City Job Centre, which conducted a survey on 2,300 enterprises in HCM City, said that the high-tech industries like electronics, telecommunications, precise mechanics, information technology will need 30% of total skilled workers in 2007. Meanwhile, the service sectors of business administration, marketing and advertisement, accounting, banking and tourism will need 30% of total labourers, and the remaining 40% of labourers will be used in garment, footwear and food processing.
There will some changes in the labour market in 2007. As for the sectors that required skilled and qualified labourers, the demand from training and hotel services, finance and investment consultancy will increase. In addition, the demand for skilled workers in high-tech industries will also sharply increase.
Vietnam Economic Times - January 19, 2007.
|