Vocational training: Need to reposition 'hot' industries to meet supply and demand

Hot industry adjustment

Textile and garment is one of the sectors with large export turnover of Nghe An, contributing greatly to job creation. The whole province has more than 60 factories in operation, creating about 40 thousand jobs, production value reaching 4,186.4 billion VND, average growth rate reaching 19.9%/year.

Textile and garment is one of the sectors with large export turnover of Nghe An, contributing greatly to job creation. Photo: Thu Huyen

In 2022, this item ranked third in the province with 331.8 million USD, with the active export participation of 33 enterprises, exporting goods to more than 20 markets around the world, including: Korea, China, the United States, Japan, West Asian markets... In which, Minh Anh Do Luong Garment Joint Stock Company and Kido Vinh Company Limited had the largest exports with turnover of 80 million USD and 52 million USD, respectively.

However, due to fluctuations in the West Asian market and some European countries, businesses in Vietnam in general and Nghe An in particular have no goods or their markets have narrowed. This has led to thousands of workers losing their jobs and hundreds of factories having to close.

In addition to the garment industry, other industries such as electronics and footwear are also in a similar situation. Many establishments have had to drastically reduce their workforce, even laying off workers en masse. In the fourth quarter of 2022, garment, electronic components, and footwear units laid off more than 1,900 workers, leaving a workforce unemployed and without income.

Hong Lam College of Economics and Technology focuses on industries that have signed labor orders. Photo: Provided by the school

Faced with that situation, many vocational training institutions have made adjustments to suit the trends of occupations that were once considered the main categories. Mr. Phan Xuan Dung - Principal of Hong Lam Economic - Technical College said: For the garment industry, we still recruit based on orders from Hanosimex that were signed in advance, and we train on a rolling basis, recruiting as many students as needed, not training en masse as before. According to Mr. Dung, among the 7 occupations that the school is training, there are occupations that were not hot before, such as IT or food processing techniques, but are now being focused on. “That is because after signing long-term contracts with businesses that need workers, we have provided recruitment consulting to attract more students for these majors. And in the future, the food processing and IT industries will have certain potentials. Especially now that factories are producing in chains, the system of skilled workers in these majors will have the opportunity to have stable jobs with good incomes,” said Mr. Dung.

Vocational training in culinary techniques at Hong Lam College of Economics and Technology. Photo: Provided by the school

In the same way, Mr. Luong Anh Tuan - Principal of Nghi Loc Economic - Technical Vocational College said: In the situation that garment companies do not accept interns from the school, we have made certain adjustments, that is, we will mainly train in fashion sewing instead of focusing on industrial sewing as before. Because the sewing industry's term is quite long, 2.5 years, so the market forecast must be really accurate, we only recruit students when there are orders.

The school also chooses the main majors as food processing technology, welding, and automotive technology. For many years, the school has not recruited enough students for majors that are not considered "hot", such as civil electricity, air conditioning and refrigeration repair technology. This year, the school will adjust the enrollment, with the view of linking first and then recruiting later, avoiding the situation where this major is "hot" today but will "lose its hotness" in a few years, causing difficulties for students after graduation.

Labor market research

According to data compiled by the Southeast Economic Zone, in early 2023, businesses in the province will need 5,110 new jobs, of which the textile and footwear industry will need 2,200 jobs; the electricity and electronics industry will need 2,000 jobs, the seafood processing industry will need 410 jobs, and the wood, chemical, bamboo and plastic product manufacturing industry will need 500 jobs. Thus, the textile and footwear and electronics industry still has the highest job market share.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Hoang Sy Tuyen - Head of Vocational Training Department of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said: Previously hot industries such as garment and leather shoes still account for a large market share in new recruitment in factories and enterprises. However, in this market share, the skilled workforce accounts for only 15%, the remaining 85% are unskilled workers. The workers laid off in the fourth quarter of 2022 are mostly unskilled workers in the garment, leather shoes, and electronic components industries. Therefore, for skilled workers, opportunities in out-of-province or overseas markets are still very open.

However, according to Mr. Phan Xuan Dung - Principal of Hong Lam College of Economics and Technology, usually, units outside the province only recruit based on the needs of the output market, when they cannot develop new markets, recruitment is also limited. Therefore, the garment and footwear industry still tends to stagnate, so we need to train the right number according to the needs signed with the business.

Regarding this, Mr. Vi Ngoc Quynh - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs commented: In order to have a strategy to develop occupations that meet the needs and trends of the labor market in a stable and sustainable manner, vocational training institutions need to have specific strategies and plans for each stage and each year on training and recruitment cooperation with enterprises to adjust and perfect the training program and prepare conditions to ensure appropriate quality, meeting the needs of enterprises. Vocational training institutions also need to implement diverse forms of cooperation with enterprises through signing memorandums of understanding such as: Linking, ordering training, inviting enterprises to participate in the school board or board of directors, building programs, textbooks, teaching, guiding internships, evaluating learning outcomes of learners at vocational training institutions, etc.