Opportunity for Nghe An workers to 'leave farming but not leave home'

Go to the village to work as a worker

Previously, due to difficult family circumstances, little productive land, natural disasters, pests and crop failures, Nguyen Thi Thuy and her husband in Quang Son commune (Do Luong) had to leave their young child with their grandparents to take care of and go to Binh Duong to work as garment workers. Living in a foreign land and an expensive urban area, the couple worked hard, but each month they could only send 2 million VND back home for their grandparents to raise their grandchildren.

With dozens of large-scale garment companies coming into operation, job opportunities have been opened up for Nghe An workers. Photo: Thanh Phuc and documents

In 2018, when her first son entered first grade, to make it easier for him to study, the couple discussed returning to their hometown to apply for a job as a garment worker at a garment factory in Quang Son commune (Do Luong). “Working in the morning and coming back in the evening is very convenient. Although the income is less than companies in the South, in return, there is no need to pay for rent, no need to pay for transportation, no need to eat from pot to pot, and most importantly, I can be near my child and take care of him. Working in shifts, I can raise pigs and chickens, so life is stable,” Ms. Thuy shared.

Currently, the entire Quang Son commune has 1,000 workers working at the local garment factory with a salary of over 5 million VND/person/month.

After returning from working abroad in Libya, Mr. Ho Xuan Trung (Xuan Hoa commune, Nam Dan) went to the provincial labor and employment center and was introduced to a suitable job right in his hometown. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only Quang Son commune, but also Do Luong district, the number of workers going to work far away has decreased significantly compared to before. Many workers return to their hometowns to work as workers in factories and workshops, especially garment factories that attract a large number of workers in the district. Up to now, Do Luong has over 170,000 people of working age, of which 55,000 are involved in production, business, and working as workers... locally. Of these, 8,000 workers work at 20 enterprises and companies in the district.

With the development of industrial parks, export processing zones, private enterprises, 100% foreign-owned enterprises... the demand for labor is quite high, workers have many choices, many opportunities to find jobs suitable to their abilities, qualifications and income levels. And currently, the trend of Nghe An labor is shifting from working far away to working as workers right at home.

Keeping workers in their hometowns

However, in reality, the recruitment of workers by companies and enterprises in the province still faces many difficulties. In Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) alone, there are 3 units producing and trading in wooden products, cosmetics and garments, requiring thousands of workers, but the locality cannot meet the demand.

Lacking workers, a garment factory's production line in Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) had to be left idle. Photo: Van Truong

For example, a branch of a cosmetics company located in Tan Vinh hamlet, Vinh Thanh commune needs to recruit 50 workers with a salary of 8-10 million VND/person/month, but so far, the branch has only recruited 30 workers; or a garment company located in Vinh Thanh commune, which started operating in June 2019, needs to recruit about 500 workers with a salary of 6 million VND/month, in addition to a diligence allowance, fuel allowance... but has not yet recruited enough workers.

Mr. Thai Danh Gia - Owner of a garment company in Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) shared: "Up to now, the company has only recruited 80 workers, still lacking more than 400 workers, many machines and equipment that have been invested in and purchased have to wait because there is no one to operate them."

Many localities lack human resources in the carpentry and mechanical industries... Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Vu Van Quyen - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Yen Thanh district said: Yen Thanh district has over 154,000 people of working age, of which over 15,000 are exported workers, with over 100,000 workers working in Binh Duong province, Ho Chi Minh City... The remaining number is only 40,000 people in the locality. Yen Thanh district currently has 7 garment factories, with a scale of 500 - 2,000 workers, creating jobs for tens of thousands of local workers. Not to mention Yen Thanh also lacks labor in fields such as mechanics, carpentry, agricultural production, and farms.

According to the 2019 plan, Nghe An province will attract investment into the area of ​​about 120 projects with a total capital of 25,000 - 30,000 billion VND, of which FDI capital is about 3,000 - 5,000 billion VND, thereby creating new jobs for about 11,000 - 12,000 workers.

According to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, in 2019, more than 38,000 workers were employed.

Currently, in Nghe An, there are 10,488 enterprises operating with a workforce of about 202,000 people (data as of 2018), including 54 state-owned enterprises, 10,384 non-state enterprises and 50 FDI enterprises. In 2019, the recruitment demand for work at enterprises in Nghe An province is about 20,430 people; enterprises outside the province are more than 68,000 people.

It is forecasted that by 2025, Nghe An's population will reach about 3,510,000 people, the labor force of working age will be about 2,101,880 people, the human resource to supply enterprises, industrial parks, and industrial clusters in the province will be 88,200 people, outside the province will be 81,100 people, and labor export will be 97,700 people.

Recently, many social welfare activities for workers have received attention from companies and businesses. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This is the general trend, but in reality, many businesses and companies still have difficulty recruiting and are seriously lacking in labor, especially in the textile and garment industry. Therefore, to attract local workers, businesses need to change their working style and production environment towards professionalism; implement good policies on benefits and care for workers' lives: buy risk insurance; support breakfast and lunch; support rent for workers living far away; organize social welfare activities...

Thanh Phuc - Van Truong