Illustrative image (Source: VNA)The report, entitled “ASEAN in transformation: Howtechnology is changing jobs and enterprises”, forecasts that three-fourths of labourersworking in the electric and electronic sector might be replaced by robots.
These are major export sectors of Vietnam, which account for nearly40 percent of the total workforce in production. However, the garment-textilesand leather-footwear industries, which employ mostly unskilled labourers, arefacing an alarming low productivity which is equal to only 20 percent of thatof Thailand.
At the same time, the ILO report held that the improvement ofworkforce skills should be an important task of Vietnam as the country is facingchanges in the nature of jobs in the technology era when unskilled workers maybe replaced by automation.
David Lamotte, ILO Vice Director for Asia-Pacific, said thatthe changes will take place in the next few years as cost for technology willdecrease while that for workforce will increase.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs, in the 2017-2025 period, Vietnam’s workforce will rise 1.28percent or 723,000 people per year, while the total workforce will reach 62million in 2025.
In order to provide jobs for all, the economy should createadditional 650,000 jobs, according to the ministry, adding that transforminglabour structure is a way to increase labour productivity.
By 2016, only 11.2 million labouers in the total number of56.4 million, or 20.6 percent, have been trained. The qualifications oflabourers are different between urban and rural areas, while the trainedworkforce has yet to match the market’s requirements, said the ministry.-VNA
VNA
