One of the three breakthrough programs of the resolution of the Long An Provincial Party Congress (2020-2025 term) is training human resources to meet the province's industrial and agricultural development requirements. To realize this target, the Long An Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has actively introduced many solutions like empowering vocational education institutions to work effectively, streaming students and opening vocational training classes for rural workers.
The Long An Employment Service Center, the Veterans' Association and the Women's Union of Long An province sign a cooperation program to provide counseling, vocational training and job opportunities for its members
Strengthening the school-business connection
In recent years, supported and directed by the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council and the Provincial People's Committee, vocational education in Long An has produced remarkable results. The province has 25 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) facilities (three colleges, seven intermediate schools, 7 TVET centers and eight TVET companies) capable of providing vocational training for over 23,000 trainees a year. They have good infrastructure and facilities and qualified teachers and administrators. Their training programs and curricula are regularly reviewed, updated and supplemented in line with scientific and technological advances, thus raising training quality and meeting the recruitment demands of companies and the market.
As a result, the rate of trained laborers in the province has increased to 73.35%, with 32.07% certified. Over 90% of graduate trainees find jobs with stable incomes. This helps reduce poverty and ensure local social security.
Adopting market demand-based training, TVET facilities work with over 200 local and external companies to launch training programs. Specific activities include sending students to practice at enterprises in accordance with training programs; receiving materials and guiding students to practice making products; training students as per contracts ordered by companies; organizing job fairs, engaging technical staff from customer companies to develop training programs and textbooks; and sending teachers/trainers to practice at enterprises.
In addition, carrying out employer support policies and improving vocational skills training and retraining for employees as per Decision 23/2021/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, Long An College has cooperated with four companies to conduct skill improvement training for their 370 employees.
Ms. Nguyen Hong Mai, Director of the Long An Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the cooperation has strengthened school-employer relations, reduced pressure on equipment investment for schools, enabled teachers to boost their professional and practical knowledge for teaching; and empowered students with access to new equipment, technology, professional working styles, a sense of discipline and expected jobs after training. In addition, companies can recruit qualified and skilled workers to enhance their product competitiveness in the domestic and export markets.
Creating employment for workers
On April 15, 2021, the Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution 12-NQ/TU on the implementation of human resource training programs to meet industrial and agricultural development requirements of the province, the department launched Plan 1233/KH-SLDTBXH dated March 15, 2022 to guide TVET facilities, employment service centers and local authorities to carry out.
In addition, the department has coordinated with media agencies to disseminate the resolution in various and suitable forms such as publishing news and articles in printed and electronic newspapers; broadcasting reportages on radio and television; and printing communication posters. TVET schools have worked with localities and enterprises to carry out communication and information on the resolution, vocational training advice and job counseling for students and their parents; introduce contractual overseas working projects to local workers; and launching vocational training for rural workers.
According to the Long An Employment Service Center, in 2023, local companies are forecast to recruit workers to fill more than 45,000 positions. Specifically, unskilled laborers will account for 59.55%; processing and manufacturing workers, 19.98%; mechanical engineering and technical workers, 13.49%; and office workers, 6.98%.
In order to create jobs for workers, in the coming time, the department will continue to speed up communications and information on the employment market as well as labor supply and demand, organize regular job days at the Long An Employment Service Center and mobile job days in localities with many industrial zones and take part in online job sessions with Mekong Delta provinces to connect job-seeking workers with companies.
| Long An province set the target that, by 2025, trained workers will account for 75%, with 35% certified; and 40% of workers will get job counseling and introduction from employment service centers. By 2030, trained workers will account for 80%, with 40% certified; and 45% of employees will be consulted and introduced by employment service centers. |
In addition, the department will regularly conduct surveys to build a local labor supply and demand database; update information on its website on a weekly basis, connected with the province’s website and on Long An ID application where people and businesses can conveniently look up information, companies can find suitable workers and workers can find their vocational training and job opportunities.
At the same time, the department will support employees and employers in difficulty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; assist employers to train and foster professional skills for their employees; and launch housing rent support policies for workers to help companies to attract and retain their employees.
By Duy Anh, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi