The agreement facilitates the free movement and employmentof qualified and certified personnel between the bloc’s member states.This means that a Vietnamese worker will be allowed to work in otherASEAN countries and Vietnam is able to attract skilled workers inthe region to fill the shortage in the local tourism sector.
Through the EU-funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible TourismCapacity Development Programme (ESRT), experts from the union havehelped Vietnam build the Vietnam Tourism Occupational Skills Standard(VTOS) system, an important element for Vietnam’s tourism sector berecognised in accordance with MRA-TP’s regulations.
Thesystem will also assist travel agencies in providing requisite skills totheir staff in order to meet MRA-TP’s rules.
The VietnamNational Administration of Tourism (VNAT), with support from the ESRT,has designed a handbook to guide the implementation of the MRA in theregion. The handbook was adopted by ASEAN tourism ministers at theirmeeting in Laos in mid-January 2013 and has been provided to allmember nations.
MRA-TP is considered as an important factor toimprove the tourism sector’s standards as well as enhance professionalability of labour forces working in the sector in ASEAN membercountries.
Vietnamese working in the tourism sector who areawarded a VTOS certificate will be recognised if their skills also meetthe ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals(ACCSTP).-VNA