The supporting industries are still 'thirsty' for skilled workers.

Although a large number of graduates enter the workforce each year, supporting businesses still face difficulties in recruitment because most of the available personnel do not meet the requirements.

The program for developing supporting industries from 2016 to 2025 includes various activities, which the Government has identified as the foundation for developing and growing into a sustainable industry in Vietnam.

One of the requirements set forth in this program is to actively support and train human resources to improve their quality and meet the demands of industries producing supporting industrial products.

However, currently, the shortage and weakness of human resources is a major obstacle for many businesses operating in the supporting industries. Many supporting industry businesses still complain that they are facing difficulties because the majority of the workforce does not meet the requirements.

There is still a significant shortage of high-quality human resources for supporting businesses. (Illustrative image: KT)

As a company operating in the field of precision mechanics, specializing in manufacturing products for customers in industrial zones, especially foreign businesses, Mr. Le Huy Thuc, General Director of PMTT Group, stated that the company faces significant difficulties in recruiting workers, even after directly placing orders with numerous universities and colleges.

"Currently, businesses want to recruit graduates who can start working immediately. While there is an oversupply of university-level graduates, the current workforce with college and vocational school qualifications is extremely scarce, making recruitment very difficult for businesses," Mr. Thuc said.

Looking at the current state of the supporting industries over the past years, it is clear that the demand for supporting industrial products is enormous, especially with the increasing rate of investment by foreign businesses in Vietnam. In the context of rapid scientific and technological development, the quality requirements for products from supporting businesses will become increasingly stringent.

In this context, in addition to investing more in new and modern technology lines to meet production requirements, businesses are increasingly needing to equip themselves with high-quality human resources for this process. However, the current state of human resources in Vietnam, as demonstrated by universities and colleges, shows inadequacies; they are not truly training and supplying quality human resources for businesses.

Commenting on the human resources for supporting industries in particular, Dr. Pham Xuan Khanh, Principal of Hanoi High-Tech Vocational College (HHT), said that currently, schools and training institutions are mainly training based on their own capabilities and abilities, leading to a workforce that does not truly meet the needs of businesses.

Meanwhile, businesses also lack close connections with schools to request training that meets their needs, leading to a constant shortage of human resources in many supporting businesses.

"If we only provide short-term training for students, ensuring they can immediately find employment upon graduation is a very difficult requirement, given the current shortage of skilled workers. Short-term courses are only suitable for retraining, supplementary training, or advanced training. To have highly skilled personnel, businesses need to closely monitor the long-term training process. There should be additional support or direct assistance for workers, or funding for training institutions based on the number of registered students," Dr. Pham Xuan Khanh stated.

According to Dr. Pham Xuan Khanh, a major challenge regarding human resources as Vietnam integrates more deeply into the global economy is the migration of skilled workers with good foreign language skills from other countries to Vietnam. In particular, the challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is spreading globally, further demand that Vietnamese human resources have specific development plans and strategies to seize opportunities from Industry 4.0 and overcome challenges.

Over the years, the government has issued many policies for the development of supporting industries, but their implementation by businesses remains limited. Besides human resources issues, supporting businesses also face many obstacles related to bank capital, land, and support for trade promotion and supply-demand connection.

Therefore, to develop supporting industries, Mr. Nguyen Hoang, Chairman of the Hanoi Association of Supporting Industry Enterprises, emphasized the need for breakthroughs in implementation with the determination of all levels and sectors to concretize policies, so that businesses can access financial and technological resources, aiming for connections between domestic and foreign businesses right in the Vietnamese market.

According to VOV