The lack of labor, especially skilled and technical workers; workers who speak fluent Korean ... is a problem for Korean enterprises. To solve this problem, Binh Duong has proposed solutions. At the same time, it is desirable for Korean enterprises to work with local authorities to train and recruit local workers from vocational education institutions.
Vietnam - Singapore Vocational College builds many practice workshops for students to be skillful after graduation. In photo: Students practice with modern equipment at a workshop of Vietnam - Singapore Vocational College.
Continuous effort
Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee had a meeting with Korean enterprises investing in Binh Duong. At present, Korean enterprises are investing in 734 projects in Binh Duong, total registered capital of $ 3.13 billion. Major projects are in textile and garment industry, footwear, manufacturing of auxiliary products for automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food processing industries.
One of the problems for Korean enterprises is the lack of high-quality human resources to operate factories. They said that at the time of technology development, most businesses invested in machines to replace part of manual labor. Using modern machines requires a technical and professional workforce. However, the current recruitment of skilled and professional workers is not easy.
Kim Won Sil, Chairman of Korean Investment Enterprises Association in Binh Duong Province said: “Human resource plays a huge role to enterprises. Binh Duong is in need of manpower, especially skilled and technical workers. I hope that Binh Duong leaders would find many policies to support human resource development to help Korean enterprises in Binh Duong.
The problem of human resource is not only for Binh Duong but it is a common difficulty for the whole country. Along with that labor movement due to the development of many factories across the country, the shortage of labor is also very worrying in the future. To solve the problem of skilled workers for businesses, Binh Duong has been trying every day.
Pham Van Tuyen, Deputy Director of Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs said, supply of human resources for businesses was a regular task of Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs. Currently, Binh Duong has Employment Service Center to support businesses in recruiting skilled and professional workers. Provincial Employment Service Center is connecting with Central Highlands provinces to search for unskilled workers. The province also prioritizes investment in material facilities and practice workshops for students and vocational schools in order to train a skilled workforce right when they are still in schools. Binh Duong also hopes for cooperation between enterprises and vocational institutions to train local human resources.
“In order to have a skilled labor force, businesses need to cooperate with vocational training institutions in the province. In the training process, vocational training institutions hope that enterprises would create good conditions for students to visit, practice at their factories and offices. Then graduates could operate machines and do not need re-training”, Mr. Tuyen said.
Working together to remove difficulties
Another concern to Korean companies is the lack of Korean translators, workers who speak fluent Korea. Coming to Binh Duong, companies sent many Korean managers here to run their factories. But due to the lack of Korean translators, they cannot convey thoughts and sentiment to workers. These enterprises hope that the province would open more Korean language teaching centers at high schools, colleges, and universities in the province.
In Binh Duong, only Hung Vuong Gifted High School currently has Korean classes and Korean teachers. Although Binh Duong's education and training sector as well as parents have a great demand, the teaching staff of Korean language in Binh Duong is limited. It is the province's difficulty in integrating Korean into teaching and training. On the other hand, Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that the required foreign language is English. Therefore, all schools must teach English to students. Korean, French, and Chinese are the second foreign languages, so schools only encourage students to register for these, not compulsory. Binh Duong also has many foreign language centers that teach Korean but the number of teachers is quite small. Those, who are good at Korean in Binh Duong, mainly apply to businesses, not to teaching classes.
To respond tosuggestions of Korean enterprises, Binh Duong leaders affirmed that they would direct all branches and levels to actively connect with each other to grasp enterprises' difficulties and promptly assist them. Since then, it will help Korean businesses feel more secure when choosing Binh Duong as a long-term investment place.
Reported by Thien Ly – Translated by Ngoc Huynh
