Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan talks about solutions to attract talent

The breakthrough solution to attract talent is to change the policy of using human resources in a reasonable way...

Illustration photo

On the stele inscribed with the names of the Doctorates of the Nham Tuat examination (1442) of the third year of the Dai Bao era, located at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, composed by Doctor Than Nhan Trung, there is a passage that says: "Talents are the vital energy of a nation. When the vital energy is strong, the nation will be strong and prosperous. When the vital energy is weak, the nation will be weak and lowly. Therefore, wise and holy emperors have never failed to consider educating talented people, selecting scholars, and cultivating the vital energy of the nation as necessary tasks."

Thus, since ancient times, our ancestors have identified the “national spirit” as both the aspiration and the vitality of the nation. The country always has many talented people. However, each period has how that talent is brought out. When cared for and respected, there will be many talented people and they will bring glory to the country.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan - a prestigious politician and diplomat of Vietnam - was very fond of the teachings of our ancestors on discovering and attracting talents. Although he no longer holds a position, he is always interested in all developments of the times and still enthusiastically gives advice to the country when it comes to using and attracting talents.

Having had many open dialogues with the intellectuals and youth, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan felt that they not only have excellent intelligence but also great enthusiasm and ambition... Among those tens of thousands of outstanding young people, there are many young talents who can contribute their intelligence and efforts to the development of the country. However, at present, Vietnam's policy of using and treating talented people is still fragmented and inappropriate, so although there are many talented people, our country has not yet attracted and promoted their capacity to the maximum to serve the Fatherland. Therefore, looking at the whole picture, at present, Vietnam's high-quality human resources are still inferior to many countries in the region as well as in the world.

So what is the breakthrough solution for Vietnam to retain talent?

There are many talented people but our country's human resources are still weak.

PV:Dear former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, for every country that wants to develop, the contribution of high-quality human resources plays a very important role. As someone who has experienced many changes of the times and has experience in the country's development, how can you assess the current human resources of our country?

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan:For all mankind as well as for each country that wants to develop, there must be high quality human resources. Our ancestors often called high quality human resources as talented people. These include people who not only have talent but also have virtues like the "vital energy of the nation".

Since our country gained independence, President Ho Chi Minh has focused on finding and promoting talented people. Uncle Ho sent letters to localities with the request to discover talented people to contribute their efforts and intelligence to build the country.

After the success of the August Revolution and in the following years, in our country's Government apparatus, there were many distinguished people and intellectuals such as: Phan Ke Toai, who was once a high-ranking mandarin, the late Minister of Education Nguyen Van Huyen, the late Minister of Health Hoang Tich Tri, the late Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoang Minh Giam, the late Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Nghiem Xuan Yem... who had many contributions and contributions to the country's development. What is special is that President Ho Chi Minh used many of the above-mentioned outstanding people and intellectuals in negotiations with the French colonialists...

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan

Currently, Vietnam is entering a new phase with the goal of turning our country from a poor and backward country into an industrialized one, so more than ever, we need many talented people.

However, talents in our country today are not rare, but their contributions to the country are still modest, leading to the overall quality of Vietnam's human resources being inferior to many countries in the region and the world.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam's labor productivity is still only 1/18 of Singapore, 1/6 of Malaysia and 1/3 of Thailand and China.

Labor productivity is assessed based on expertise and professional ethics in many different fields. According to the general assessment of the International Labor Organization, these factors in Vietnam are still weak, so in general, the country's labor productivity is lower than many countries in the region.

For example, the field of Administrative Management in our country always needs talented people, but currently, the professionalism of the administrative apparatus is still low compared to the job requirements. Some administrative staff still do not know how to do procedures or an administrative manager does not know how to make the right decisions to bring common benefits to the collective. That is not to mention that many officers and employees still cause trouble for the people, have not resolved all the people's problems and suggestions thoroughly.

In the field of science and technology, there are many PhDs, but we have not yet had outstanding scientific achievements that have contributed to strongly promoting socio-economic development.

Looking at a country with a developed economy in the Southeast Asian region like Singapore, we will see that the administrative management apparatus is highly professional with qualified and ethical employees, always focusing on serving the people above all else.

An official or an administrative apparatus in Singapore always works in a position of serving the people, not managing them. For example, if a family wants to move house, they only need to inform the local government to take care of all paperwork for transferring real estate, electricity and water services, so the people do not have to worry or waste time doing the procedures. In Vietnam, people who want to transfer their house or change the electricity and water system almost always have to "ask".

Singapore's economy is growing strongly because this country always focuses on policies to encourage talent, so they not only attract domestic talent but also many talented people from other countries want to come to Singapore to live and work.

What is hidden in the young generation is a "great ambition"

PV:As someone who has had many conversations with intellectuals, especially the young generation, what do you see hidden behind their "youth"?

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan:It can be said that, from ancient times to the present, regardless of the period, the prosperity of the country is decided by the young generation. In the resistance wars against foreign invaders, colonialists and imperialists, the youth force has contributed greatly to the victory. In labor and production, the young generation is the vanguard force, contributing to all successes. Regardless of the period, the young generation, especially the youth, has the desire to serve and contribute to the country.

Compared to my time and that of my predecessors, the young generation today has received basic training and access to more modern information and technology in the world. Therefore, they have relatively good intelligence, knowledge and capacity. Not only that, the young people are also very bold and straightforward in expressing their thoughts, opinions, aspirations, and contributing their opinions on many important issues of the country. In particular, I completely admire the young people for their enthusiasm, ambition, and great aspirations...

We can clearly see this through the country's major events and challenges, such as when hearing the "bad news" of General Vo Nguyen Giap's death, tens of thousands of young people, regardless of the sun or rain, were ready to line up from one neighborhood to another to pay their respects to the General. This action shows that they "idolize" the heroes who have made many contributions to the country, and respect the patriotism and bravery of the "golden generations" of which General Vo Nguyen is a typical figure.

Or the event of China brazenly placing the Haiyang 981 drilling rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf has fueled the patriotic spirit of all classes of people, in which the patriotism and bravery of the youth stands out.

Using the "national vitality" is most important!

PV:To attract talented people to contribute to society, the Party and the State have had policies and preferential treatment to retain talented people in the country or those living and working abroad to return to contribute to their homeland. However, the number of people staying or returning to the country is still very modest. Does former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan have any ideas or breakthrough solutions to this situation?

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan:It is incorrect to say that the Party and the State have no policies to attract and reward talented people. The policies and regimes that have been put forward are all in place, but they are still fragmented, not uniform and not clear. Many solutions have been put forward as propaganda slogans, but implementation is still limited and not at the right level.

Many overseas Vietnamese and intellectuals want to return to the country to live and work, but face many difficulties in buying a house, completing paperwork, and even being "jealous" when working in agencies and businesses.

Therefore, if a country wants to have many talented people, it must know how to discover, use and promote their abilities, and treat them appropriately.

In the stages of discovering, using and rewarding talents, the issue of utilization is the most important. However, in reality, many talents still have concerns and worries about not being used in the right place, at the right level and having difficulty finding a job. They want a more objective and fair mechanism for using human resources rather than how to treat them.

In my opinion, the breakthrough solution to attract talents is that we must strongly change the policy of using high-quality human resources so that each talent of the country is properly utilized. That way, the "national vitality" will not be wasted and fall into the hands of other countries or "stronger" people.

According to VOV