Southern labour market powers ahead

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Binh Duong province, one of the largest industrial hubs in the southern region, lured some 50.67 trillion VND (2.03 billion USD) worth of domestic investment and 1.09 billion USD from foreign investors in the first eight months of this year, said the provincial People’s Committee.

The figures reflect rosy signs of industrial production and trade in the locality, thus promoting businesses’ demand for workforce.

Binh Duong is now home to 29 industrial parks and 12 industrial clusters, attracting about 1.3 million workers.

Many enterprises and production facilities in the province operating in wood processing, garment-textile, plastic molding, and mechanics are gaining steam, said Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Van Tuyen, adding labour demand is to rise further in the remainder of the year.

According to the provincial Employment Service Centre, Thu Dau Mot, Tan Uyen, and Thuan An cities, where industrial parks are mushrooming and favourable infrastructure and logistics available, will see the biggest demand.

Notably, many businesses have offered training to their new employees, contributing to developing a sustainable and modern labour market.

Meanwhile, those in Ho Chi Minh City will need up to 161,500 labourers in the second half of this year, mainly in trade, services, construction, and agro-forestry-fisheries, of them 87.7% trained workers, said the municipal Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information

The city Centre for Employment Services reported that over the past month, its website recorded more than 3,600 job seekers, and about 8,650 job offers, mainly in leather-footwear, garment-textile, production, and food-beverage.

HCM City’s neighbouring province of Dong Nai is also projected to need some 40,000 labourers in the remaining months.

The latest job fair in the province, which took place in mid-August, attracted the participation of 20 firms that are seeking nearly 1,400 workers, yet only more than 230 were recruited.

Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the HCM City Vocational Education Association, held that the labour market is growing with higher demand in terms of both quantity and quality, and stressed the need for competent state agencies to step up forecasting and support the connection between labourers and employers./.