Vocational training support for unemployed workers: Subjects are not interested

(Baonghean) -According to Decision No. 55/2013/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, effective from December 1, 2013, the level of vocational training support for workers receiving unemployment benefits has increased. However, after more than 5 months of this decision taking effect, vocational training courses for unemployed workers have not yet created much attraction...

Workers register for unemployment at the Provincial Employment Center.

At the Unemployment Insurance Department of the Employment Service Center (under the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs), many workers came to register for unemployment. In addition to guiding the necessary procedures, the staff of the department also learned about the needs and provided vocational training advice to workers. However, according to our observations, most of the workers who came here were indifferent to this issue. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha (born in 1988) in Trung Son commune (Do Luong) said that she had previously worked for a sports shoe manufacturing company in Ho Chi Minh City for 4 years. This year, due to the company cutting down on workers, she had to quit her job in early March 2014.

Ms. Ha said: “I have paid unemployment insurance for 3 years, so I just want to use the subsidy to cover my daily expenses. In the near future, I intend to return to my hometown to open a grocery store, so vocational training is unnecessary, because it is both time-consuming and costly. Moreover, the current vocational training support of 600,000 VND/person/month is nothing compared to the cost of food and transportation.” Meanwhile, Mr. Le Van The (born in 1974) in Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) just quit his job in February 2014 after 5 years working for a leather shoe company in Dong Nai. Having just filled out the application form to receive unemployment benefits, Mr. The said: “As the main breadwinner in the family, my wife is a farmer with 3 small children, so I need to find a job immediately to have money to cover living expenses. Being able to learn a trade and receive support of 1 million VND/month is very meaningful, but if I finish studying and am still unemployed, I would rather take the subsidy and do seasonal work.”

Discussing this issue, Ms. Lam Thi Que - Head of Unemployment Insurance Department said: "In addition to unemployment benefits, the goal of the unemployment insurance policy is to help workers reintegrate into the labor market by introducing jobs and supporting vocational training. Therefore, since 2013, along with paying unemployment benefits, the vocational training support policy for unemployed beneficiaries has been implemented with a support level of 300,000 VND/month (equal to the cost of primary vocational training). However, in 3 years (2010 - 2012), the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was 11,785 people with a total unemployment benefit payment of 57 billion 113 million VND but no one registered for vocational training.

It was not until 2013 that out of 7,359 people receiving unemployment benefits, only 50 people registered for vocational training. Specifically, in August 2013, 25 people attended a civil-industrial sewing course and in December 2013, 25 people attended a motorbike repair course, each course lasted 3 months. In the first 4 months of 2014, despite receiving the new level of support, out of nearly 2,500 people registered for unemployment benefits, only 12 people wanted to learn a trade and we are not sure how many of these people will participate in vocational training.

Mr. Ho Van Hung - Director of the Provincial Employment Center said: "While vocational training is facing difficulties, the State's increased support level is a great encouragement for the Center and workers. After the Prime Minister's Decision 55, we have increased the number of direct consultants to create favorable conditions for unemployed workers to register for jobs and vocational training. In addition, we have linked up with vocational training facilities so that workers can access vocational training classes suitable to their qualifications and abilities, such as: cooking, motorbike repair, computers, industrial sewing... However, vocational training for workers receiving unemployment benefits is still a difficult problem. In fact, the above support level is only suitable for some occupations such as: cooking, farming, animal husbandry...

Compared to some high-cost professions such as driving and mechanics, this level of support is still quite low, leading to difficulty in attracting students. For example, in 2014, we intend to cooperate with the Vietnam - Germany Vocational College to train drivers, but the cost of a 3-month driving course is 4.7 million VND, meaning that workers participating in vocational training must pay 1.7 million VND themselves. Moreover, elementary vocational training courses are not enough to improve working skills. If they want to improve their working skills, workers must spend more money to study intermediate or college vocational courses. Meanwhile, the majority of workers who come to register for unemployment at the Center are unskilled workers (accounting for more than 90%), whose lives are already difficult, when they lose their jobs, the subsidy only partially compensates for the difficulties of life, so where can they get the money to reinvest in working skills!?

Therefore, their common mentality is to spend time doing other informal jobs to maintain their lives while finding new jobs. On the other hand, according to regulations, vocational training support funds for unemployed workers are not given directly to workers but are paid to vocational training facilities through social insurance agencies in the form of monthly transfers. The procedures are complicated, so vocational training facilities are not interested in accepting unemployed workers for vocational training. Mr. Tran Ngoc Quang (born in 1980) in Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc) added: "I have worked for 3 companies in the South and when I was first hired, I also had to undergo a short-term training course of the company before I could work. Therefore, I find vocational training impractical and unnecessary."

Ms. Ho Thi Chau Loan - Head of Vocational Training Department (Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) expressed her opinion: “Most of the workers who register for unemployment insurance are unskilled workers, so even if they go through 3 or 6 months of vocational training, they cannot become skilled workers to apply for a job at a place with a higher salary. Therefore, the key issue here is to create jobs and protect sustainable jobs for them. In addition, to encourage unemployed workers to learn a trade, it is thought that the support level should not be fixed but should be regulated according to the study time frame and by occupational group. On the other hand, training must have more connection between vocational training institutions and businesses to create jobs for students, avoiding wasting state funds as well as labor resources as at present”.

Mai Anh