Bridge of new faith and motivation
50 years ago, under the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the German Democratic Republic, hundreds of German experts came to Nghe An, helping to rebuild Vinh city from the ruins caused by American bombs. Today, German managers, experts and businesses come to Nghe An to cooperate in improving the quality of vocational training and creating jobs for young workers.
Nguyen Mai Linh• March 28, 2025
50 years ago, under the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the German Democratic Republic, hundreds of German experts came to Nghe An, helping to rebuild Vinh city from the ruins of American bombs. Today, German managers, experts and businesses come to Nghe An to cooperate in improving the quality of vocational training, creating jobs for young workers, contributing to providing human resources for a number of German states and businesses. The bridge is again built between the dear past and a bright future, with both faith and new motivation.
After the working trip of comrade Thai Thanh Quy - at that time Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and the Nghe An province delegation to Germany in June 2024, through the connection between the two sides, on the afternoon of March 26, 2025, in Vinh city, the International Relations Office of Craft Industry of the state of Thuringia represented by Ms. Friedrich and BTZ Rohr-Kloster Training School represented by Mr. Manfred Tietze and leaders of a number of enterprises in Erfurt, Germany came to work with the Vietnam - Korea College of Industrial Economics (CĐKTCN).
This activity is the result of a visit and working session of Nghe An provincial leaders in Germany in June 2024. And nearly 1 year later, in Nghe An, the two sides discussed and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in training teachers and students, improving the quality of vocational training; solutions to facilitate students of the Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology to access the labor market in the state of Thuringia, Germany.
More than 50 years ago, on October 22, 1973, the Government of the German Democratic Republic signed with the Government of Vietnam the Agreement on the construction of Vinh city, when the Vietnamese people's fight against American imperialism had not yet ended. According to this Agreement, from 1974 to 1980, 213 German officials and experts came to Nghe An to help with the overall planning of Vinh city, organize training for officials and technical workers; help design and rebuild Vinh city and some surrounding areas. There were 29 projects built during this period, from cement factories, brick factories, construction mechanical factories, vocational training facilities, commercial centers, especially the 21-storey buildings on Quang Trung street with more than 1,500 apartments, the most modern in Northern Vietnam at that time.
It is difficult to recount all the hardships and sacrifices of German experts. It is difficult to count how much machinery, equipment, and money the German people and government have given to Nghe An to rebuild Vinh city from the ruins of American bombs. However, what remains in the people of Vinh city and Nghe An province is gratitude to German friends, to the German country and people. The appearance of Vinh city has the beauty, modern development, and spaciousness as it is today thanks to the planning and architectural foundation through the help of the German experts from that time.
Nghe An currently has 49 vocational training establishments, with a 70.1% rate of trained workers. However, the current limitation is that the training quality in many establishments does not meet the needs of the labor market. The main reason is that the facilities and equipment for training are mostly outdated, and the teaching staff does not meet the increasing demands of the labor market.
In 2024, Nghe An's economic growth rate will reach 9.01%, ranking 13th in the country. Foreign investment attraction will reach 1.7 million USD. Up to now, the province has 147 valid FDI projects, with a total registered capital of 5.1 billion USD. Besides, the province is also facing difficulties, especially in the quality of labor resources. A representative of VSIP Industrial Park said that VSIP 1 Industrial Park is currently short of more than 20,000 workers, but it is very difficult to recruit enough. When VSIP 2 Industrial Park comes into operation, it will need 100,000 to 150,000 skilled workers. This is also the common situation for WHA Industrial Park, Hoang Mai Industrial Park and enterprises in the province.
According to a recent report by the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province, from 2020 to 2024, each year more than 23,000 Nghe An workers go to work abroad under contracts; Annual remittances are estimated at 350 million USD. Besides the positive aspects, Nghe An's labor market is facing problems and difficulties, such as: the number of highly skilled workers is still low. Labor quality and productivity are still low compared to many countries in the region. The situation of workers who have not yet expired their contracts and run away to work abroad, residing illegally in the host country is still high..., causing negative impacts on the overseas labor market in general. This is one of the problems, a bottleneck for the development of Nghe An in the new era.
The meeting and signing of cooperation agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and Vocational Training of Southern Thuringia State, BTZ Rohr - Kloste Training School and Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology mentioned specific contents: Training, updating knowledge and skills for teachers, innovating and developing training content and fields of Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology according to the needs of the German and international labor market. Along with improving the quality of labor right from the first stage in the country, the two sides will promote the exchange of students and experts. A number of students of Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology will be sent to Germany to continue training in phase 2; with the method of both studying and working, to both improve practical skills and have enough income to cover expenses during the study period. At the end of the training process, these students will be accepted into production and business establishments in the state of Thuringia State.
During a recent working trip, Nghe An provincial leaders directly worked with a number of German associations, enterprises and the Vietnamese Embassy in Berlin and were informed that: Currently, Germany is short of more than 600,000 workers each year, especially in the fields of core technology, engineering, construction, nursing, etc. Working with provincial leaders and the Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology, Ms. Friedrich, Head of the International Relations Department of Craft Industry of the state of Thuringia, representing 6,300 enterprises in Thuringia, expressed: Currently, Germany's leading technology enterprises are very interested in Vietnam's labor resources. With the human resources and teaching systems of some training institutions in Nghe An such as the Vietnam - Korea Vocational College of Technology, combined with Germany's vocational training capacity, the cooperation between the two sides will produce high-quality human resources, meeting the needs of the domestic and foreign labor markets, especially in the fields of mechatronics, automotive technology, etc. in Germany.
Mr. Vo Trong Tho - Director of Kaiser & Vo GROUP in Erfurt, in his role as a connector for this cooperation program, committed: His company and its partners in Erfurt are fully capable and experienced to support the legal procedures on the German side for this cooperation program.
Suddenly thought of the book"The house back then"has just been compiled and published by researcher Pham Xuan Can and many authors, including German experts who worked in Vinh city from 1975 to 1980. The book is a reminiscence of the dear past; it is the respect and gratitude for the contributions and affection that German friends have given to Vinh and Nghe An during the years when the country and homeland had just gone through war with many difficulties.
And today, German managers, businesses, and experts in the field of vocational education come to Nghe An to cooperate and agree on solutions to achieve the goal of improving the quality of vocational training, creating jobs and better income for Nghe An workers; meeting the needs of the domestic labor market and providing high-quality human resources for German production and business enterprises.
Hopefully, we and our German friends will continue to write the story of today, with the core values of intelligence, effort, responsibility, trust and affection built from the past; for the development of Nghe An province and Thuringia state, for the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Germany.
And perhaps, that is also the most beautiful expression of cherishing the past; the best way for us to continue the bridge of faith and new motivation in the era of our homeland and country's rise.
