LookAtVietnam – The rush to meet end-of-year contract deadlines among producers has created a huge demand for labourers.

Young people at a job fair in Tan Binh District, HCM City. Contract deadlines at the end of the year increase the demand for labours among producers.

However, he said the number of qualified candidates accounted for just 25 per cent of the total demand.

Nguyen Xuan Chinh, head of the Ha Noi Industrial Zones Management Board, said the number of employees working in the city’s eight industrial zones was 6,000 more than the same period last year.

He said the number of investment projects had increased this year, resulting in higher demand for labour.

Meanwhile, it is a similar story in HCM City.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information, said there were 110,000 vacancies in the city in the fourth quarter, of which 90,000 job vacancies had arisen in the last two months. He added that half of the total demand was for seasonal workers, a further 30 per cent was for university and college graduates, while the remainder was for skilled workers.

Tuan said that demand for manual workers this month was largely in cooking processing, food and beverages, services, interior decoration and small construction works.

A survey by HCM City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs showed that highly skilled workers would be sought to fill managerial positions in the economic and administrative sectors, as well as for scientific research.

The greatest demand last month was in the electric and electronic industries, followed by services, sales and marketing, textiles and footwear.

These sectors have been suffering a constant labour shortage because they offer unstable and low-paid jobs, he said.

The survey showed that the labour market last month saw strong demand for management positions, while demand for employees with postgraduate and graduate level qualifications increased eight and ten times respectively, compared to October.

In the thirst for labour, businesses have simplified their recruitment processes and have been forced to accept candidates with lower skills and less experience.

Furthermore, Tuan said some companies were even willing to pay double the monthly minimum wage or VND1.6 million (US$89) per month.

The Ha Noi Industrial Zones Management Board has also helped with job advertisements in the media.

On the other hand, businesses themselves have also stepped up recruitment campaigns.

Dong A Steel Company, for instance, is actively looking for financial staff, project managers, construction engineers and office workers. It also approached the city’s technology university to recruit graduates.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam Scancom and Hong Quy Glass are also finding it difficult to fill vacancies.

Industrial parks and export processing zones in the city are looking to recruit thousands of workers.

City authorities said the labour shortfall was largely due to the economic downturn which saw many workers lose their jobs and return to their hometowns.

Others are reluctant to change jobs at the end of the year and lose their annual bonuses, they said.

Tran Anh Tuan, the centre’s deputy head, warned that the shortage of workers was likely to worsen before it got better.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News