Training of craft village workers must be close to the goals and requirements.

(Baonghean) - After 7 years of implementing Project 5727 on vocational training associated with job creation, serving the development of small-scale industry and craft village construction in the province, besides the achieved results, there are still many difficulties and shortcomings. At the conference summarizing 7 years of implementing the Project held on July 16 in Vinh City, the shortcomings were frankly acknowledged and many practical solutions for the coming time were discussed.

Get ahead of the curve

One thing that is worth noting is that Project 5727 on vocational training associated with job creation for workers serving the development of small-scale industry and craft villages in our province was started to be implemented at the end of 2008, 2 years earlier than Project 1956 on vocational training for rural workers of the Prime Minister. Therefore, Nghe An not only "took a shortcut" but also took advantage of all capital sources of Project 1956 to help vocational training work effectively.

Assessing the implementation of Project 5727 of the province, at the summary conference, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Viet Duong also said: Through vocational training, it has contributed to improving the quality of labor resources, consolidating the construction of craft villages, villages with crafts, increasing the scale of craft villages in the whole province to 133 craft villages and 400 villages with crafts. The quality of craft village activities has improved a lot, the efficiency of operations is getting better and better, and actively contributing to the construction of new rural areas in localities.

Bamboo and rattan weaving village in Quynh Dien commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Tran Canh Yen

Project 5727 was officially approved in 2008, also at a time when the rate of vocational training in the field of small-scale industry (TTCN) in rural areas of our province only accounted for 20-25%. The structure of vocational training occupations, the construction of craft villages for rural areas in both planning and results were not synchronous, many occupations had not been trained, especially new occupations and the restoration of traditional occupations. With such shortcomings, as soon as Project 5727 was implemented by promoting socialization of vocational training, improving the effectiveness of organization, management and vocational training, encouraging the mobilization of resources for vocational training in rural areas... it brought many results.

After 7 years of implementation, the whole province has 50,797/58,180 trained people who have jobs after vocational training (reaching 87.3%) with income from 2 - 2.5 million VND/person/month. In particular, thanks to the high increase in the number of skilled workers, the rate of craft villages and craft villages in the province has also increased dramatically. From 2008, the province recognized only 65 craft villages, after 7 years, 68 more craft villages and over 300 craft villages have been built, many traditional crafts have been preserved and promoted.

Talking about the effectiveness of vocational training and craft village development, Ms. Sam Thi Binh, Head of Hoa Tien Cooperative (Quy Chau) said: The Cooperative currently has 60 members, and every year the Cooperative receives many domestic and international orders. Since its establishment, the Cooperative has also opened vocational training classes for nearly 300 workers, of which about 60% have regular jobs, gradually developing the profession, ensuring the rate of workers knowing the profession so that in 2010, Hoa Tien brocade weaving was recognized by the province as a craft village...

Reality shows that wherever there are craft villages and side jobs, the lives of rural people there are stable and gradually developing. In Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau), from 2008 to now, with the opening of 13 vocational training classes, including many classes opened with a large number of people such as the class of chief engineer, captain, fish sauce processing technique class... the awareness of workers about the profession has been significantly raised. After vocational training, hundreds of idle workers have stable jobs, many workers have become reputable business owners with high income. Besides, it has contributed to the development of many new professions such as freezing seafood for export, frozen purchasing, shipbuilding.

The challenges

Although certain results have been achieved, vocational training for the development of small-scale industry and the construction of craft villages in our province still has limitations and shortcomings. Talking about this issue, Mr. Thai Dai Phong, Duc Phong Company Limited said: "Currently, the province has many craft villages and villages with crafts, but it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. For example, the bamboo and rattan weaving craft village has 39 craft villages, but the number of workers is currently very small. There are times when we have many orders but cannot find enough workers. It is said that Nghe An has everything, but it is difficult to promote the products as commodities. We have participated in many international trade promotion fairs, but we do not dare to introduce any products. Even brocade, to collect enough for a container takes from 8 months to 1 year. Our labor productivity is too low, making a product takes from 10 to 15 days, so the economic efficiency cannot be high."

Some delegates also said that: Many of the professions we train are not reasonable, causing waste. For example, training in duck and cow raising for farmers may not need to last up to 3 months. Vocational training for rural workers is only for women, over-age workers, and idle workers. Vocational training for young people and those of working age is too little and there are professions that will have a labor shortage in 5-7 years because there is no next generation of young people.

Sharing about the above issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Ngoc Commune (Dien Chau) also gave an example: People working in seafood processing need a lot of knowledge about food hygiene and safety, but a class that only teaches a few sessions is not enough to provide knowledge. Many classes are opened that do not meet the needs of local people and are not close to reality. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuong, Principal of the Vocational College - Small Industry, admitted that: Small industry is not attractive, the income after graduation is not as high as some other economic or technical professions, so it is not attractive. Rural workers after vocational training have difficulty accessing loans, so investment in career development is limited.

The 7-year report on the implementation of Project 5727 also pointed out 5 shortcomings in the implementation process, that is, many targets did not meet the set plan, many occupations had difficulty finding students to study or classes could not be opened such as the production of construction materials, ceramics, porcelain, glass, and fine art stone carving. Mainly short-term training, the number of workers trained at intermediate and college levels only reached 64% of the plan. The quality of vocational training and work efficiency after vocational training were not high. Only 11.3% worked in enterprises and cooperatives, the remaining nearly 60% worked in craft villages, villages with crafts (they had a craft before training)... There is still a situation where some rural workers after vocational training cannot find jobs or have jobs that are not really sustainable, especially in mountainous districts such as Que Phong, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Ky Son. Some products of craft villages face difficulties in consumption, most units still have to "swim on their own" without support or connection between localities and businesses.

Faced with this reality, many opinions say that in the coming period, we should not spread out training but focus on industries, occupations, and craft villages that are truly effective. At the same time, we must review the more than 500 craft villages and craft villages that exist today. If any village no longer exists or has no potential for development, there is no need for much investment. Villages that are developing well should be prioritized and given conditions for expansion. Villages that show signs of "stagnating" must have orientation and development encouragement. Craft villages that want to innovate must have support, cooperation, and commitment from the locality during the construction process.

The conference also agreed on the direction of the Provincial People's Committee: In the coming time, the selection of training occupations must be focused, key and linked to market needs. The development of the project for the period 2016 - 2020 must be based on the goals and tasks of local socio-economic development. Implement well the integration of national programs and goals, provincial budget vocational training, and vocational training support policies for specific subjects. Socialize vocational training, mobilize local resources, sponsors, joint ventures, resources of enterprises, workers and apprentices to increase the scale and quality of training for the field of handicrafts - craft villages. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention and have policies for vocational training, strengthen propaganda work, streamline students, encourage students to learn vocational skills... Schools, artisans, and skilled workers in the process of teaching must innovate teaching methods to improve the quality of vocational training, and attach importance to providing the market with a highly skilled labor force that meets the requirements of the province and international integration.

My Ha