According to a report it sent to the PrimeMinister on March 30, the MoLISA said more than 68,500foreign nationals are licenced to work in Vietnam, mostly from the Republic of Korea (23,581) and China (15,310).
Most of them, mainly professionals or highlyskilled workers at enterprises, have not been able to return to Vietnam afterthe Tet (LunarNew Year) holidays in late January due to movement restrictions due toconcerns over the spread of COVID-19, which has caused a great dealof difficulties for those businesses, the ministry said.
They were told to find replacements for them,but most said it takes a long time to find people for such positions since itrequires outstanding professional qualifications, management experience andforeign language skills and not many Vietnamese can meet those requirementsright away, it said.
If the shortage of highly skilled workerscontinues, it would greatly affect the operations of the companies and affectthe progress of many key national projects, the MoLISA warned.
Local administrations and foreign diplomaticmissions have asked to prioritise entry for 8,459 foreign workers, mostly fromChina and the Republic of Korea, accordingto the ministry.
They include some 2,000 employees of nationalkey projects that use new technologies, including the China-funded Cat Linh–Ha Dong urban rail project in Hanoi, which requires around 100 Chinese experts or the Vinh Tan 1 ThermalPower Plant project, with 76 Chinese experts needed; LG Display plant in Hai Phong (200 Koreanengineers); Samsung Display Vietnam Co., Ltd. in Bac Ninh (700); SamsungElectro-Mechanics Vietnam Co., Ltd. and its partner company in Tai Nguyen (150); andTexhong Co., Ltd. (77).
The proposal comes amid a rangeof stringent social distancing measures ordered country-wide by theGovernment from April 1 to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shown no signsof stopping./.