Golden opportunity for highly skilled workers
(Baonghean) -The project “Sending skilled workers to work abroad, period 2017-2020, orientation to 2025” is being drafted by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. In Nghe An, the project also opens up many opportunities for students who are currently studying at universities, colleges and vocational schools.
Many benefits for skilled workers
Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc in Le Mao ward, Vinh city, graduated from the University of Transport in 2008. After more than 5 years working for many companies in Hanoi and Nghe An, in early 2016, Ngoc decided to go to Korea to work. When he first arrived, he was only paid the salary of an ordinary worker.
However, after learning that Ngoc had graduated from a prestigious university in the country and had many years of working experience, the business owner trusted him and appointed him as team leader. Currently, Ngoc's average salary is 1,500 USD, equivalent to someone who has worked for 5 years.
On the occasion of the traditional Lunar New Year in 2017, Ngoc was given the opportunity to take a leave by her company. Talking about her work abroad, Ngoc confided: “Most workers who go abroad think that all manual labor is the same. However, if they are trained, have skills, and have a good foreign language, their career opportunities will be better and their salary will be higher.”
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| Class time of students majoring in Automotive Technology at Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of National Defense. Photo: My Ha |
At Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of National Defense, the school is currently opening many foreign language classes in Korean and Japanese for students studying engineering majors at the school. Tran Viet Anh - a student of the Refrigeration Department said: "My biggest wish after graduation is to work abroad to have a stable income and improve my qualifications. Therefore, even though I am only in my first year, I still registered to study foreign languages to find opportunities for myself."
| The policy of sending trained workers to work abroad has been implemented by Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of National Defense for about 5 years now. However, after a long period of preparation, the number of workers who can work abroad each year can still be counted on the fingers of one hand. The most successful case is 5 lecturers who have worked at the school for many years and are currently working in Korea with quite high salaries, stable income and have also brought their wives and children to live abroad. |
Colonel Nguyen Truong Son - Vice Principal of the school said: "Technical workers working abroad have many advantages, such as being paid the same salary as workers in the host country, being able to bring relatives after 3 years of settlement, being granted an indefinite visa... However, to go under this category is quite difficult, requiring workers to meet many strict criteria regarding skill level, foreign language and many other ethical standards.
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| Class time of students at Vinh University of Medical Education. Photo: My Ha |
In fact, in the past, Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of National Defense, the number of students who were able to work abroad were mainly students who graduated from other universities in the country, then were sent by businesses for further technical training under the training cooperation program... As for the rest, for those who have just graduated from vocational schools, the opportunity is still very rare.
Seize the "golden" opportunity
The project “Sending skilled workers to work abroad, period 2017 - 2020, orientation to 2025” is being drafted by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. According to Mr. Dang Cao Thang - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, if the project is implemented, this is truly a “golden” opportunity for Nghe An workers today, including university and college graduates. That will also limit the widespread unemployment of bachelors and masters and create opportunities for schools to find quality output.
“Anticipating” this policy, recently universities, colleges, vocational schools and labor export and supply companies in the province have also started looking for human resources and partners. At Vinh Medical University, Mr. Nguyen Canh Phu - Principal of the school said: “After the information that European countries and Japan need a lot of nurses and caregivers, the school has received many requests from companies specializing in labor export asking for cooperation.
The school leaders' viewpoint is that if the cooperation is effective, it will open up a lot of hope for medical students and this is also an opportunity for them to expand their knowledge and improve their skills. At Vinh University of Technical Education, we are also continuing to sign student exchange programs with many universities and colleges in Korea and Japan to meet the study and job aspirations of students under the engineer VISA program.
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| A Korean language class at Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of National Defense. Photo: My Ha |
However, it must be seen that to effectively implement the program, there needs to be a long-term strategy to train human resources to improve professional skills and foreign language skills, social understanding, native culture, and industrial style.
Regarding labor cooperation, Mr. Le Thai Son - Head of Student Support Center, Vinh University of Technical Education said: "Although students have graduated from university, it is still very difficult for them to work under the high-tech labor program because foreign requirements are very high, especially labor discipline awareness. Meanwhile, many of our students are still not willing to practice hard, still study superficially, do not focus on improving their qualifications, and their foreign language skills are still poor."
| According to statistics from the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, each year Nghe An has nearly 13,000 workers going to work abroad for a limited period under contracts. In previous years, unskilled workers going to countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan and Middle Eastern countries accounted for the majority. In 2016 alone, the number of skilled workers going to work in Japan increased dramatically with 2,244 people (an increase of nearly 1,500 people compared to 2015). This result also shows that, although there are still many difficulties, the opportunities for Nghe An workers to enter demanding labor markets are increasing. |
Even if we try, our province can achieve the target of increasing the rate of skilled workers going abroad to 40% in 2017, because we have enough resources. The important thing now is to promote propaganda, innovate in training, have more incentive mechanisms, loans and consultations to support workers in the process of finding high-income job opportunities abroad.
My Ha