With the period before Tet usually
seeing demand for temporary workers spike, job centres have their busiest time
of the year, acting as intermediaries between mainly students and employers.

Students look for part-time jobs in the run-up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays. The demand for temporary workers is increasing, but students are warned about fraudulent practices at some employment agencies. (Photo: VNS)

Since
the Lunar New Year is the most important festival in Viet Nam and by far the
biggest shopping season, there is a surge in demand for cashiers, delivery
people, guards, and other retail jobs.

Students
fit the bill best since the jobs are mostly temporary.

For
their part, the students are happy to earn a little extra that will enable them
to travel home or pay tuition and also gain valuable work experience.

They
call this period the season for making money.

“I have
a temporary job every Tet,” Tran Thi Yen, a second-year student at the HCM City
University of Industry, said, adding the money she earns from doing seasonal
jobs makes her financially less dependent on her parents.

Employment agencies in Ha Noi and HCM City are especially busy ahead of Tet, and
this year demand seems to be unusually high.

Demand
for workers is about 20 per cent higher last year, according to Nguyen Trong
Hoang of the HCM City Students Support Centre and Van Anh of the Ha Noi-based
October-20 Job Agency.

Anh
added that wages are also 20-30 per cent higher as a result of inflation.

Most of
the demand is from service establishments like supermarkets, restaurants, and
amusement centres.

“A
temporary worker at a supermarket or restaurant in HCM City can hope to earn
VND1.5 million-2 million (US$75-100) during the pre-Tet period,” Hoang said.

The HCM
City Students Support Centre has introduced more than 1,200 temporary jobs to
students so far this season and expects that number to rise to 3,500.

Big C,
the French-owned supermarket chain, is looking for 250 workers for both its Ha
Noi and HCM City outlets, while the Ha Noi-based Media Mart is recruiting for
free 200 students to work in sales and delivery.

However,
it is not a free ride for everyone.

Despite
the rising demand, higher wages, and offers for increasingly diverse work, many
do not find suitable or interesting jobs that also pay well.

“After
looking for a week, both online and by visiting job centres, I have still not
found the job I want,” My Phung, a student at the HCM City University of
Medicine, said.

Since
she does not have a motorbike, the young woman is looking for a job that does
not require her to travel out of the city. But the jobs she has liked so far
require what she is not qualified for. “Most of them require people who know
foreign languages, to work full time, or even to be good-looking,” she added.

One of
the reasons for employers pitching their demands high is that they want to keep
the seasonal workers for good, deputy head of HCM City Centre for Labour Market
Information and Human Resource Demand Forecast, Tran Anh Tuan, explained.

A number
of direct marketing companies have been calling students for job interviews only
to try and convince them to buy their products.

Some
employment agencies have opened just to take advantage of the seasonal demand
and are not above board. They collect fees from the students only to offer them
impossible jobs.

People
close to the industry are advising students to only look for jobs through
reputed agencies.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News