Labor shortage in Trung Kien craft village

(Baonghean) - As a traditional craft village with over 700 years of existence and development, Trung Kien boat-building village (Nghi Thiet, Nghi Loc) is now facing difficulties in terms of skilled labor...

Very few young workers choose to establish a career in Trung Kien craft village, despite the attractive income.

It was peak boat-building season, so at this time, walking along the roads of Trung Kien village, you could hear the sounds of drilling, chiseling, and planing... creating a distinctive symphony of the craft village. In the middle of working hours, the road leading into the village was deserted, with only women bustling about carrying fish, meat, vegetables, and other goods to sell at the village's makeshift market. After asking for directions for a while, we finally found the house of Mr. Tran Dang Lu, the young owner of the Lu Hien boat-building cooperative. Stepping from one boat to another, Mr. Lu chuckled and said, "We're short on workers, so the owner has to step in. We joke that I'm earning two salaries at once!" Then, Mr. Lu led us on a tour of his production facility, explaining the elaborate processes involved in building a ship, and seemingly explaining his reasoning when he noticed our surprised expressions at the sparse number of workers directly involved in shipbuilding: "It's not just my facility; at this time, every shipyard is facing a severe labor shortage. Sometimes, during peak periods, we have to rely on neighboring factories to meet orders on time."

Mr. Lu further revealed that each ship requires an average of 10 skilled workers working continuously for 3 months. In 2013, his cooperative only had 23 skilled carpenters, plus 4 female unskilled laborers to do auxiliary tasks, "including the owner who also works as a carpenter, that's a total of 28 people. In 2013, the cooperative received many orders but only completed 7 ships. Although all the main and auxiliary workers worked tirelessly day and night, sometimes even having to mobilize workers from outside the cooperative, it wasn't until the afternoon of the 30th of Tet (Lunar New Year's Eve) that the last ship for the ship owner was completed. Everyone was happy with the many orders, but if we had more workers, the work would be faster and the workers' time would be better protected."

Not only the Lu Hien shipbuilding complex, but most shipbuilding complexes and facilities in Trung Kien craft village are facing this situation. Especially since 2009, the reputation of the village's traditional boatbuilding craft has spread far and wide. Simultaneously, with the Party and State's policies supporting fishermen venturing further offshore, orders have increased significantly, inversely proportional to the noticeable decrease in the number of skilled master craftsmen. Mr. Nguyen Gia In, the village's head, is now over seventy years old. Having served as the village's leader for 11 years, he says he has never seen a labor shortage as "critical" as it is now. “The average daily wage for a master craftsman is 300,000 VND, while for an assistant craftsman it's around 130,000-150,000 VND. At the end of 2013, the Cooperative held a meeting of the Management Board and agreed with the workshop owners to increase the average daily wage by 30,000 VND per person, meaning master craftsmen now earn 330,000 VND per person per day. This is a decent monthly income, enough to ensure a comfortable life for the workers' families. However, each workshop owner has their own ways of retaining workers, but overall, the situation remains very difficult. Every year after Tet (Lunar New Year), there's a labor shortage!”

Currently, the total number of workers in Trung Kien craft village is about 250, while the actual demand is for more than 400 skilled workers. Mr. In explained that the reason for this situation is largely due to the villagers' preference for working far away. From a young age, the children of Trung Kien village are imbued with the traditional craft of shipbuilding; wherever they go, they are welcomed for their skillful workmanship and sophisticated shipbuilding techniques. Training a level 2 craftsman takes at least 3 years of practice on complex details. In 2004, with the support of the local government, Trung Kien craft village opened a short-term 3-month vocational training and skills enhancement course for 100 students, all of whom were villagers. With proper training, certificates, and ample job opportunities, the village craftsmen still go to other distant seas. On the other hand, some pursue higher education and work in agencies and businesses, not continuing the traditional shipbuilding craft of their ancestors. It cannot be ruled out that some children from traditional boat-building villages have switched to carpentry. There are countless reasons for the shortage of skilled labor even within traditional craft villages.

Finding a solution to this situation has been a long-standing concern for the Cooperative's Management Board, and also a reflection of people like Mr. Nguyen Gia Tue – a master craftsman from the "veteran" generation of the village's traditional craft. Nguyen Gia Tang, the fourth generation in this family of traditional craftsmen, is practicing his first skills for the long career path he is determined to pursue. "Born and raised in the village, with the craft passed down from our ancestors, I'm just continuing it. I don't think too much about it, I don't want to go anywhere far. In the village, having a skill means a stable and prosperous life!" – Tang said with a cheerful smile. Standing beside him, Mr. Nguyen Gia Tue added: "The most important thing now, in my opinion, is to promote and encourage the village's children to preserve the traditional craft. It's both a sustainable livelihood and a unique cultural identity, a characteristic rarely found elsewhere. Many places are now bringing their crafts back to the village, and we, with our high level of skill, are unable to preserve it – that's very sad!"

The sorrow of the master craftsman, deeply concerned about the traditional craft passed down from his ancestors, is also the sorrow of countless people in Trung Kien village. The shortage of skilled labor means that shipyard owners have to be selective and cautious when considering orders sent from all over. This inadvertently narrows the opportunities for expanding production and business in the craft village, while the people of this small village at the foot of Dragon Mountain can still establish a stable livelihood by practicing the traditional craft of shipbuilding, a gift passed down through generations.

Phuong Chi