Children visit a pottery workshop (Photo: tripi.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Traditional craft villages of Hanoi are facing ashortage of labourers, especially skilled workers, reported Kinh te VietNam & The Gioi (Vietnam and World Economy) Magazine.
Right now, the city has more than 1,350 traditional craftvillages, 45 per cent of total villages nation-wide.
The villages in Hanoi are staffed by 176,000 householdscreating stable jobs for 740,000 workers. However, there is a shortageof skilled workers.
According to Nguyen Nhu Dien, owner of Son Linh LeatherFootwear Workshop in Phu Xuyen district, he has a lack of workers.
This, he says, is because many rural labourers have quittheir jobs to work in industrial zones where they could earn more money andenjoy better social benefits.
The shortage of skilled labourers is one of the main reasonsthe villages’ products are not selling well, due to low quality and poordesigns.
Phu Vinh Rattan and Bamboo Weaving Village of Chuong My districtis also suffering.
Artisan Nguyen Phuong Quang, Director of Viet Quang Companysaid “the village was famous for its products many years ago but it could notdevelop anymore because of a lack of labourers.”
“For many years, households had gotten used to producingproducts with few samples. They did not have skilled craftsmen who could createmore new designs.
“This means the products are loosing competitiveness whilethe demand had been increased year by year, even day by day,” Quang told thepaper.
Meanwhile, Hoang Xuan Thuy, Director of the Hanoi IndustrialPromotion and Development Consultancy Centre, said training is crucial to solvethe problem.
The centre has organised training courses of rattan andbamboo weaving, lacquering, worm-silk weaving, embroidery, and pottery led byartisans.
Training skilled labourers for the craft villages would helphouseholds and businesses to increase the productivity and competitiveness inthe market, said Thuy.
To support the traditional craft villages, the municipalPeople’s Committee will launch a development plan this year.
Under the plan, the city would offer financial assistance to14 workshops to invest into advanced equipment for production; supporting 10-12villages to promote branding activities; and help 20 craft workshops to hireexperts designing products for exports.
The city would also open training courses for 24,000 ruralworkers and give incentives to 40 workshops which were in charge of trainingjobs for 1,400 workers.
Business management training courses would be given to 1,500owners of craft workshops.
The city set a target of increasing the production value ofthe craft village by 10-12 per cent as compared last year, and export turnoverof craft products is estimated to reach 200 million USD.
The villages would create 433,000 jobs for rural labourers.-VNA
VNA
