Nghe An strives to expand European labor market

Efforts to expand the labor market

Sky International Corporation in 2025, 2026 is expected to bring more than 300workers to European countries, Japan, Koreac, focusing on markets such as Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland... with occupations such as construction, mechanics, welding...

According to the representative of this company, depending on the needs of the host country, workers will do different jobs and have different salaries. Currently, Romania is the country that receives the most Vietnamese workers, of which 90% work in the construction and industrial sectors. The lowest salary for unskilled workers is 650 USD per month, if skilled, it is 800 - 1,000 USD with an 8-hour day, 5-day week.

The company's representative also said: The company's traditional markets are Japan and Korea. However, last year, the company sought more contracts in Europe. Because while Japan has age restrictions and complicated procedures for going to Korea, some European countries such as Romania and Bulgaria are quite easygoing. Unskilled labor, not too high skill requirements, as long as they are of age and in good health, there is a chance. Each year, the company sends about 100 workers to some European countries; the salary ranges from 20 to 60 million VND depending on the industry and the worker's skills. The cost of sending them cannot be more than one month's salary according to the contract for each year of work, not including language and vocational training fees.

However, attracting more workers to European markets is still quite difficult for this enterprise. "We are expanding the target audience to European markets at vocational schools in the area, because with the skills they have been trained, they will have the opportunity to increase their income much more," said a representative of Sky International Joint Stock Company.

As for Phuc Chien Thang Trading Company, over the years the company has directly signed contracts with many European markets such as Croatia, Hungary, and Denmark. Mr. Nguyen Le Thang - Director of the company, said: "In the past 2-3 years, workers tend to want to find work in Europe instead of going to Japan. The reason is that the Japanese yen has fallen sharply, the amount of money that workers can save to send back home is low, so they are not as interested in this market as before. Meanwhile, many countries in Europe are in great need of human resources, so the policy of attracting immigrant workers has changed a lot."

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“For example, in Germany, to attract skilled workers, the German Government has created conditions for foreigners to become naturalized earlier than before, about 5 years. Thus, after 5 years, workers can be considered for permanent residence and sponsor relatives. At the same time, foreigners also enjoy equal working conditions and benefits as locals. As for Vietnam, since January 2024, the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the field of labor and employment, helping to open up cooperation opportunities.

Ms. Trinh Thi Huyen - Director of IBM International Corporation

Kaizen International Joint Stock Company, IBM Trading Joint Stock Company and Sky ASIA International Joint Stock Company based in Vinh City, specializing in supplying labor to the European market, last year sent 1,000 workers to Schengen countries. In addition, these companies sent nearly 100 workers to the Russian Federation. Ms. Trinh Thi Huyen - Director of IBM Trading Joint Stock Company said: "Enterprises in the Russian Federation want to recruit factory workers, food processors, industrial machine operators...

Average monthly income is 500 - 700 USD, working time is 8 hours per day, only 5 days per week, overtime is calculated separately. Similarly, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland also have a need to recruit skilled general workers in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Basic salary ranges from 500 - 750 USD per month, depending on the job and if overtime is worked, workers will have a much higher income.

Ms. Huyen also added: Obviously, the European market is a friendly and easy-going market, an attractive destination for Vietnamese workers because of its modern living environment and good working conditions. Although the income is not too high, workers have the opportunity to save a lot, and the time spent in the host country is also longer than in Asian markets. Moreover, countries in the Schengen area have a mechanism for issuing cards to switch to a third country's work market quite easily, workers can work in Hungary for 1 year, then move to Poland, Denmark or other countries in the area.

Need to understand the nature of the European market

According to Ms. Trinh Thi Huyen - Director of IBM Trading Company: The reason why businesses still have difficulty attracting workers to access European markets is because it is very difficult to grant visas to foreign workers in these countries. Moreover, geographical distance and temperature environment are also reasons for workers to worry. While Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and Korea have a climate relatively similar to Vietnam, in European countries the cold season lasts long and is quite harsh for Asians. With the Asian market, there is an opportunity to make money quickly, because in a short time workers can work overtime regularly and have the opportunity to increase their income faster, while in Europe it takes a long time for workers to have a large amount of money.

In addition, exit fees are also a problem for Nghe An workers. While leaving for Taiwan, workers only need more than 100 million VND to be able to fly after a period of language study and orientation, but leaving for Europe, workers need to spend from 250 - 350 million VND, or up to 500 million VND if going to markets like Germany...

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"Businesses sending workers to work in Europe are facing a big challenge: workers fleeing to third countries. Therefore, the selection of exported workers must be very strict, with clear constraints, so the issuance of visas by host countries is often quite difficult. Another difficulty is that workers who want to go to Europe can easily find intermediary groups and brokers with the promise of "fast flights, huge incomes", so they are easily deceived."

Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of Labor - Employment - Occupational Safety and Health Department, Department of Home Affairs

According to Mr. Hung, for at least the next 5 years, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan will still be Vietnam's major labor export markets, especially in Nghe An. European countries have just begun to accept workers from outside the EU, mainly on a trial basis. Workers who want to go to Europe need to carefully research the recruiting company, and can call the hotline of the Department of Overseas Labor Management to check, to avoid being scammed...