A look back at Nghe An's talent attraction policies.
(Baonghean)Attracting talent and rewarding intellectuals is one of the major policies that Nghe An province has implemented since the early years of the 21st century to encourage and develop the capabilities of its intellectual workforce for the cause of building and developing the province's socio-economic development.
The primary target group for recruitment is scientific and technical personnel, followed by highly skilled workers (as stipulated in Decision No. 30 dated March 27, 2001 of the Provincial People's Committee, currently Resolution No. 169/2006/NQ-HĐND dated December 15, 2006 of the 15th Provincial People's Council), with the goal of attracting the maximum number of high-quality human resources from within and outside the province.
After more than 8 years of implementation, the amount spent on attracting talent has only reached nearly 1.5 billion VND. In the two years of 2007 and 2008, the province attracted 20 people (including 1 PhD, 11 Master's degree holders, and 8 outstanding graduates) and supported 34 people to pursue doctoral and master's degrees (3 PhDs, 31 Master's degree holders) with a total amount of 795 million VND.
The recruited personnel have demonstrated their capabilities, created innovative projects that have been applied in practice, affirmed their positions in agencies and units, and promoted the movement to improve the professional skills of officials and employees.
However, looking back at the implementation of the policy, many problems remain that need timely adjustment and resolution. The number of personnel attracted and the amount of funding spent on this policy are still small, not commensurate with the role and importance of the policy. The Education and Training sector is still excluded from the policy, not benefiting from it because it is not eligible for the attraction incentives. The incentive and attraction policy is not truly attractive or groundbreaking enough to attract leading experts and highly qualified workers (both in terms of human resources and their intellectual products). Some agencies and units have not created a favorable environment for highly qualified individuals to develop their talents and contribute to development.
Currently, a number of officials recruited under Official Document 1876/CV.UB and Decision No. 30/2001/QD.UBND have not yet been officially employed (over 70 people). The number of high-achieving university graduates working in the districts is very small: Con Cuong has only one, while Quy Hop, Yen Thanh, and many other mountainous districts have not attracted any such individuals from outside to take up their positions. The number of graduates with excellent grades from regular university programs in fields such as transportation, construction, architecture, mechanical engineering, food chemistry, information technology, etc., is very small.
In our opinion, it is time for provincial authorities to promptly review the results of policy implementation and advise on the development, amendment, and supplementation of mechanisms to ensure more effective and practical implementation. Besides initial financial support, a mechanism for rewarding intellectuals should be established to encourage and utilize their abilities and expertise to contribute to the socio-economic development of the province. A favorable environment should also be created to foster their creativity and intellectual capacity. For mountainous districts, the criteria for attracting talent should be revised to better suit local realities. The Provincial People's Committee should promptly direct the Department of Education and Training to develop a talent attraction plan and specific support policies for the education sector. Teachers should be treated more fairly. The proactive and creative role of agencies and units in implementing talent attraction policies should be strengthened. Annually, the provincial budget should allocate a proportionate percentage to fund policy implementation.
The province's current policy to attract highly skilled labor needs timely adjustments and additions to ensure it is adequate and requires stronger investment to implement, befitting the importance and role of this policy.
Tran Dinh Toan
