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A woman weaves bamboo in the northern province of Thanh Hoa's Hoang Hoa District. Older workers are seeking ways to improve their skills and earn some money. — VNA/VNS Photo Phuong Hoa |
Nguyen Cong Chinh, 62, has been studying rattan weaving under a Government programme to boost the skills of rural ethnic minorities and farmers. However, the programme is only open to men aged between 16 and 60 and women aged 16 to 55.
Chinh is unrepentant about misrepresenting his age. He said that not only did he now earn enough to support his children, but he was keeping a traditional village handicraft alive.
Younger generations of villagers have been lured away from Xuan Ho Hamlet in Bac Ninh Province to major cities where they can earn more money.
As a result, bamboo and rattan weaving in the hamlet had all but died out until the communal Farmers' Association began running handicraft classes.
Like Chinh, Nguyen Quang Tam also had to lie about his age to get a place on the training course. He is also unrepentant.
"We are both very happy because we have been able to improve our professional skills and sell bamboo and rattan products and make some money," Tam said.
Nguyen Cong Thao, director of Bac Ninh Vocational Training Centre, said he numerous elderly labourers had asked to join the training programme. He said he had felt duty-bound to let them learn a craft so they could support themselves financially.
However, he said, because they are technically not eligible to take part in the Government scheme, the centre was unable to grant them a certificate when they finished their training.
"They are not granted certificates at the end of the training course as the centre is not allowed to provide them with the training under the existing regulation," Thao said.
Others have chosen to ask their friends or relatives who are of working age to register for the programme on their behalf.
Chinh registered for the course in his son's name.
Nguyen Thi Tuoi, president of Lac Ve Commune's Bamboo and Rattan Weaving Co-operative, said more than 200 households in the commune were now making bamboo and rattan products – more than 50 per cent of whom are of pensionable age.
Xuan Ho Hamlet is typical of many rural areas, where 70 per cent of the population is typical elderly.
Tran Van Chuan, head of the Nghia Hung Vocational Training Centre in Nam Dinh Province, said elderly people should be allowed to earn a living if they were fit and healthy.
"The existing regulation means retired people cannot benefit from the Government's vocational training policy for rural workers," Chuan said.
He said that many 70-year-olds and over were perfectly able to work and that many chose to learn crafts that were unpopular with younger people, such as growing bonsai trees and bamboo and rattan weaving.
"How can they survive without working?" Chuan said.
In a bid to alleviate rural poverty, the Government issued decision 1956 last year approving a vocational training project aimed at training about 1 million labourers annually.
By the time the programme ends in 2020, about 10 million of rural workers are expected to have received vocational training.
The decision stated that priority should be given to ethnic minorities and disadvantaged farmers.
Cao Van Sam, deputy director of the Vocational Training General Department, said the Government programme was aimed at those of working age because they were the ones that were most in need. He said local authorities were free to launch their own training programmes for retirees.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, 18.7 per cent of working age men and women in rural communities are receiving vocational training, against a national average of 25 per cent. — VNS
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