Solving the "employment" problem for grassroots youth union officials.

(Baonghean) - On February 8, 2010, the Central Party Secretariat issued Decision No. 289-QD/TW on the promulgation of the Regulations on Cadres of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. After four years of implementation, Nghe An has achieved certain results, most notably in addressing difficulties in finding employment for grassroots Youth Union cadres and rejuvenating the cadre workforce at all levels.

Rejuvenate the team and overcome the bottleneck in sales.

Decision No. 289-QD/T.U dated February 8, 2010, of the Central Party Secretariat stipulates that the age limit for Youth Union officials at the district, commune, and town levels holding positions is 35 years old. Since the implementation of this regulation, with the attention and guidance of Youth Union committees at all levels, Party committees, and authorities in recruitment, planning, training, development, placement, and utilization; evaluation, rotation, and transfer; and the implementation of policies and regulations... Key Youth Union officials at the district and grassroots levels have been rejuvenated, their professional qualifications and skills have continuously improved, gradually forming a generation of young, dynamic, and enthusiastic Youth Union officials, initially contributing to improving the quality of Youth Union work and youth movements at the grassroots level. In particular, at grassroots Party congresses, Youth Union officials are considered an important source of replenishment for the political system from the district to the grassroots level. Many Youth Union officials have been given opportunities to grow and have been assigned key positions in communes, wards, and towns.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoc, Secretary of the Youth Union of Hung Phuc commune (Hung Nguyen district), speaks with a reporter.

Hung Nguyen used to be one of the districts with a high percentage of overage grassroots Youth Union officials. Prior to the 2010-2015 Party Congress at the grassroots level, 13 out of 23 commune-level Youth Union secretaries in the district were between 35 and 43 years old. However, currently, only two Youth Union secretaries aged 38-40 remain unassigned due to a lack of available positions. Cao Anh Duc, Secretary of the Hung Nguyen District Youth Union, stated: "In the past, the Youth Union organization has actively advised and proposed to the Party Committee solutions for the placement of overage Youth Union officials. The District Party Committee has also issued a document on grassroots Youth Union official work, directing and assigning responsibility to the Department of Internal Affairs and local authorities to pay attention to the transfer of Youth Union secretaries in communes and towns." Some Youth Union officials have been transferred to civil servant positions suitable to their professional qualifications, and other positions such as: commune military commander, vice chairman of the farmers' association, chairman of the Fatherland Front... thereby contributing to solving the problem of job placement for Youth Union officials who are over the age limit, meeting the need for rejuvenation and standardization of the Youth Union's leadership team.

In Thanh Chuong district, preparations have also been made to allocate positions for Youth Union officials. Since the beginning of the term, many local Party committees have taken steps to consolidate and arrange personnel with the motto "wherever the Party committee is, that's where the personnel are." Thanh Giang commune is one of the units that has been proactive in training human resources and "identifying positions" for Youth Union officials reaching adulthood. The Secretary of the Thanh Giang Commune Youth Union, Nguyen Thi Viet (born in 1979), has served as a Youth Union official for 15 years. In the process of training, fostering, and planning for officials, she was also sent by the Party committee to attend a political training course and completed a law degree. Therefore, after the Party Congress for the 2010-2015 term, she was transferred to the People's Committee to work as an office staff member. Mr. Nguyen Bao Hung, Secretary of the Thanh Giang Commune Party Committee, said: "Right from the time we appointed comrades to the Commune Youth Union Executive Committee, we have guided Youth Union officials to pursue appropriate qualifications according to their abilities and strengths to improve their professional and political skills, and then prioritize assigning suitable positions to Youth Union officials who are over the age limit."

Following the Party Congress for the 2010-2015 term, many districts have made breakthroughs in the utilization of young cadres, including Youth Union cadres. For example, in Tan Ky district, three Youth Union cadres were added to the District Party Committee, and two others were given opportunities for advancement. At the commune level, the issue of over-age Youth Union cadres has been largely resolved by the Party committees and local authorities. Some districts only have one or two over-age Youth Union cadres awaiting reassignment due to a lack of vacancies, such as Nam Dan, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, and Hoang Mai town...

Mr. Chu Duc Thai, Head of the Provincial Youth Union's Organization Department, said: To enhance the effectiveness of advisory work and to secure the attention, guidance, and support of the Party Committee and government, the Provincial Youth Union Standing Committee has proactively worked with and sent documents to the Party Committees and leaders of districts, cities, and Party Committees of units with Youth Union organizations under the Provincial Youth Union, requesting them to review and arrange work for Youth Union officials, including those over the age limit. For units facing difficulties in assigning officials to Party Committees, or units with many Youth Union officials over the age limit, the Provincial Youth Union Standing Committee has worked with the Party Committees of those units, proposing that they consider and arrange suitable work for them. In addition, the Youth Union branches at all levels have proactively advised the Party Committees and leaders of the People's Committees to organize direct dialogues with officials, Youth Union members, and young people throughout the province. The Provincial Party Committee's Organizing Department also worked directly with the Provincial Youth Union Standing Committee to review all matters, including Youth Union officials who were over the age limit. As a result, many issues related to the implementation of regulations, policies, and personnel work within the Youth Union were addressed and resolved.

Since the implementation of the Regulations on Youth Union Cadres, the quality of the Youth Union cadre team throughout the province has seen positive changes. Youth Union cadres from the provincial level to the grassroots generally meet the standards regarding professional qualifications, political qualifications, and age as stipulated in the regulations, fulfilling the requirements of their positions. Many Youth Union cadres have actively and proactively studied to improve their skills; innovated and created in their work; and contributed many initiatives and experiences in directing and organizing activities. From 2010 to the present, 18 cadres at the Provincial Youth Union office, 45 secretaries and deputy secretaries of district-level Youth Unions, and over 200 full-time cadres at the commune level have been promoted or transferred to other positions. Over-age Youth Union officials are given consideration and assigned to other positions suitable to their abilities and professional qualifications. From 2010 to the present, 178 over-age Youth Union officials in the province have been assigned new tasks. Currently, there are still 35 over-age grassroots Youth Union officials in the province who have not yet been assigned new positions.

Identify the difficulties and obstacles.

Despite the efforts of the Youth Union at all levels and the Party committees and local authorities, a "bottleneck" phenomenon still exists in many localities. Many grassroots Youth Union officials have exceeded the age limit (over 35 years old) but have not yet been transferred to other positions. The majority of them have decades of experience in Youth Union work. Localities with a significant number of commune-level Youth Union secretaries who are over the age limit but have not yet been assigned or are awaiting placement include: Do Luong (5 people aged 36-39), Yen Thanh (5 people aged 36-40), and Ky Son (6 people), with the oldest being Mr. Luong Van Chan, 42 years old, Secretary of the Youth Union of Nam Can commune.

The reasons for this situation are that some Party committees have not paid sufficient attention to the placement, rotation, training, and development of cadres, resulting in a lack of available positions for Youth Union cadres, especially those who have exceeded the age limit stipulated in the regulations. Furthermore, the number of personnel at the commune level is limited, while the positions within the commune's operational structure are already filled. Any appointments must wait for retirements or vacant positions. In some cases, the quality of entry-level Youth Union cadres is low in many areas, and during their work, they have not been able to find time to study and improve their skills to meet the criteria for commune, ward, or town civil servant positions, thus losing opportunities for rotation, placement in other positions, or civil servant recruitment and examinations.

After many years of dedication, most Youth Union officials who are past the age limit wish to retire and be transferred to a more suitable position. Many of them are very concerned because "being past the age limit and still 'standing' in the Youth Union is inappropriate, easily leads to stagnation, lacks creativity in activities, and reduces spirit and enthusiasm...". There are cases where a father's child is already in high school and has been admitted to the Youth Union, while the father is still the secretary of the commune's Youth Union, leading to situations where both father and son participate in Youth Union activities...

For example, Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, Secretary of the Youth Union of Thanh Nho commune (Thanh Chuong district), has been a Youth Union official since 1999 and held the position of Secretary of the commune's Youth Union since 2006. He himself was a highly skilled Youth Union official, receiving many commendations from the Provincial and Central Youth Unions. For many years, the commune's Youth Union ranked among the top in the district because of the Secretary's energetic and creative leadership in attracting local youth. However, due to his age, his enthusiasm and creativity have diminished over the years. He is now 39 years old but has not been transferred because the suitable positions are filled by a stable and younger team, making it difficult for him to find a suitable role. According to Mr. Trung, it is precisely because he has not yet matured that the next Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union is also "stuck in place" despite having sufficient ability and experience. Nguyen Van Hoc, Secretary of the Youth Union of Hung Phuc commune (Hung Nguyen district), born in 1975, rose through the ranks of the grassroots Youth Union movement and officially assumed the position of Secretary of the commune's Youth Union in 2009. Now 40 years old, despite having completed intermediate-level cultural management and political training, he still hasn't fully matured within the Youth Union. He confided: "Although the Youth Union work in the locality has achieved good results over the years, honestly, at my age, it's difficult to integrate with the 90s generation because the age gap leads to differences in life perspectives and thinking..."

The reason for this is that the commune's officials are all young, and there are no vacant positions to assign to Youth Union officials. Comrade Tran Van Phi, the Party Committee's Party Secretary of Hung Phuc commune, and also a former Youth Union official, said: "In Mr. Hoc's case, the Party Committee had already planned for him to be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Council, but we have to wait until 2018 when the current holder retires before we can 'fill' the position. The recent Commune Party Congress still structured Mr. Hoc, along with the Deputy Secretary of the Commune Youth Union, into the Party Committee's Executive Committee and planned to assign him to a 'temporary' position in the Party Committee office, but it's also difficult because Mr. Hoc is currently the head of a mass organization, a full-time official. If he is transferred to a part-time position, he will be disadvantaged in terms of benefits, not only receiving lower pay but also not being covered by social insurance. And if we leave Mr. Hoc to wait until 2018, the Deputy Secretary of the Commune Youth Union, born in 1982, will also face the risk of being overage..."

In reality, besides the difficulties caused by staffing limitations at the commune level, there is also the issue of the limited capacity of Youth Union officials, which puts the Party committee in a "dilemma." Many Youth Union officials are good at organizing activities, but they are hesitant to specialize in a particular area, fearing they won't be able to handle it. For example, in Hung Nguyen district, there are two commune-level Youth Union secretaries who are over the age limit and have decades of experience in Youth Union work, but they have had to retire because they lack the necessary expertise and qualifications, making it unclear where they will be assigned.

According to Mr. Le Quoc Khanh, Deputy Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department: "In reality, wherever the Party committee pays attention to and does a good job of planning for cadres, the career prospects for Youth Union cadres will be more favorable. Therefore, to ensure timely rotation of Youth Union cadres, guaranteeing that they meet the age requirements as stipulated in Regulation 289 and avoiding the 'overcrowding' phenomenon, Party committees at all levels need to coordinate with Youth Union branches to proactively build a specific, long-term roadmap from initial recruitment to training, development, evaluation, and cadre planning... However, most importantly, Youth Union cadres themselves must 'assert themselves,' consciously 'self-standardize' by self-learning, self-improvement, and proactively participating in training courses suitable to their abilities and the actual needs of the locality, avoiding the situation where they are excellent as movement cadres but, upon reaching adulthood, are not assigned anywhere due to a lack of qualifications and professional skills that do not match the assigned position." Another issue that needs attention is the recruitment and development of positive individuals, improving the quality of Youth Union cadres from the "entry" stage in order to reduce difficulties at the "exit" stage.

Khanh Ly - Thanh Nga