Vietnamese technical interns practice the Japanese etiquette in a classroom at the Vinh Phuc Labor Export Training Center. Japan is the country that receives the largest number of Vietnamese workers in the last months of 2018. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - 2019 isconsidered a promising year for labour export with a series of potentialmarkets with good jobs and salaries are opening door for Vietnamese workersoverseas.
Japan continues to be a favourite destination for many Vietnamese workers, andaccording to the Overseas Worker Management Department under the Ministry ofLabour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the number of Vietnamese workers in Japanrises each year.
In 2013, Vietnam exceeded for the first time the benchmark of 10,000 workerssent to Japan a year. The figure reached more than 30,000 in 2015 and more than54,000 last year. There is currently an estimated 120,000 Vietnamese labourersworking in Japan, the highest among 15 countries sending workers to Japan.
Particularly, in the last months of 2018, Japan overtook Taiwan (China) tobecome the country that received the largest number of Vietnamese workers. Asof November 2018, Japan received more than 60,000 Vietnamese labourers,accounting for nearly 50 percent of the total number of Vietnamese workersgoing to work abroad last year.
The number of Vietnamese workers going to Japan to work in 2019 is expected toincrease strongly after the Japan’s Cabinet last month approved an immigrationbill to introduce 345,000 blue-collar foreign workers in the next five years.The bill, which will take effect from April, 2019, opens more job opportunitiesfor Vietnamese workers.
Deputy Director of the Overseas Worker Management Department Pham Viet Huongsaid according to the bill, Japan will initially receive foreign workersworking in 14 sectors, including construction, shipbuilding, agriculture,nursing, food production, electronics, automobile maintenance and repair, andaviation.
“Basically, the Vietnamese human resources can meet Japan’s demand followingthe new policy. However, in order to meet the industrialisation andmodernisation demand, we will focus on sending labourers to work in the sectorssuch as shipbuilding, electronics, car maintenance and repair and aviation,” hesaid.
Labour markets in Europealso appear as potential markets for Vietnamese workers thanks to labourcooperation agreements signed between Vietnam and some European countries latelast year.
During a visit to Europe last November, Minister of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs Dao Ngoc Dung signed Memoranda of Understanding on Labour Cooperationand Social Security with his Bulgarian and Romanian counterparts, creatinghundreds of thousands of job opportunities for Vietnamese workers.
The signing of the labour cooperation agreement between Vietnam and Bulgariacovers both labour export and vocational training, according to the overseasworker department. Vietnam can supply 50,000 workers in six areas, includingconstruction, garments and textiles, high technology agriculture and nursing.
Romania is also viewed as a potential market in Europe. It has high demand toreceive foreign workers in sectors suitable with Vietnamese workers withreasonable wage level.
Minister Dung said Romania had a huge demand for foreign workers as its economydeveloped rapidly with an average growth rate of 5-7 percent per year. Besides,a large number of Romanian workers have moved to work in Western Europeancountries, causing serious labour shortage.
“Romania is currently in dire need for workers in many sectors as construction,production, agricultural product processing and welding industry,” he said.
He also noted the department would guide Vietnamese labour export businesses tochoose skilled workers to work in Romania and to negotiate and sign contractswith Romanian partners to ensure appropriate wage level, working conditions andother welfare policies for Vietnamese workers.
Romanian businesses and companies are expected to need hundreds of thousands ofworkers in the next few years. Vietnamese workers sent to Romania will beprovided with accommodation and food with good working conditions and a basicsalary of between 600-1,200 USD per month.
More job opportunities abroad are opening up for Vietnamese workers, however,it requires Vietnamese workers to improve their skills, foreign language andlabour discipline in order to tap these opportunities.
The number of Vietnamese workers sent to work abroad last year totalled140,000, increasing nearly 7 percent over 2017, according to the department.This was the fifth consecutive year the number has increased and exceeded100,000.-VNS/VNA
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