5,000 Vietnamese workers sent to RoK this year

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) announced that more than 5,000 Vietnamese workers have been hired to work in the Republic of Korea (RoK) since the beginning of the year.

While there are only half as many workers employed in the RoK as there were in 2008, ministry officials believe it is a positive sign that the overseas job market is improving despite the global economic downturn.

Pham Van Minh, director of the Overseas Employment Centre under MoLISA's Overseas Employment Management Department, said that the increasing demand for work in

RoK has prompted the ministry to organise two Korean language tests, instead of one as usual, for candidates this year.

"Only candidates that passed the language exam are qualified to apply for jobs in RoK," said Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, head of the Overseas Employment Management Department.

The multiple-choice Korean language test was organised in four cities and provinces including Hanoi , Nghe An, Da Nang and HCM City earlier this month. More than 27,000 candidates were qualified to take the test. Most candidates applied for industrial jobs, construction work and agricultural positions.

Quynh said the test results would be provided by RoK officials in early November.

Jung Ill Sung, head of the RoK's Migrant Workers Management Department, said about 80 percent of the people who passed the exam would be hired by Korean employers.

The Overseas Employment Office reported that since August 2004, 47,533 people have been sent to work in RoK.

While there are only half as many workers employed in the RoK as there were in 2008, ministry officials believe it is a positive sign that the overseas job market is improving despite the global economic downturn.

Pham Van Minh, director of the Overseas Employment Centre under MoLISA's Overseas Employment Management Department, said that the increasing demand for work in

RoK has prompted the ministry to organise two Korean language tests, instead of one as usual, for candidates this year.

"Only candidates that passed the language exam are qualified to apply for jobs in RoK," said Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, head of the Overseas Employment Management Department.

The multiple-choice Korean language test was organised in four cities and provinces including Hanoi , Nghe An, Da Nang and HCM City earlier this month. More than 27,000 candidates were qualified to take the test. Most candidates applied for industrial jobs, construction work and agricultural positions.

Quynh said the test results would be provided by RoK officials in early November.

Jung Ill Sung, head of the RoK's Migrant Workers Management Department, said about 80 percent of the people who passed the exam would be hired by Korean employers.

The Overseas Employment Office reported that since August 2004, 47,533 people have been sent to work in RoK./.

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Employment agencies fall short of goals

Jobseekers at an employment fair in HCM City's Tan Binh District last week. — VNA/VNS Photo Phuong Vy

HCM CITY — Employment exchanges established nationwide have failed to effectively perform their basic function of connecting job seekers with employers, a senior official says.

Nguyen Thi Hai Van, deputy head of the Labour and Employment Agency under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), said at a conference held in Ha Noi last week that the exchanges met just 10-15 per cent of existing employment demand in the country.

"This has led to the situation that Industrial Zones and Export Processing Zones are suffering constant shortage of workers while unemployment in large cities, which account for more than five per cent of the labour force, is still high," Van said.

Job transaction floors were established as an upgrade of jobs fairs in 2006, with each one receiving average funding of VND5-7 billion (US$260,000-364,000) from the State budget, according to statistics released by the Labour Ministry.

The exchanges are present in almost all provinces and cities across the country, with 44 of them holding one to three sessions per month. Each session receives funding of VND200 million (US$10,400).

However, thus far, just 14 per cent of job seekers and 16.4 per cent of employers have joined the exchange, the ministry estimates.

Huynh Ngoc Long, director of the Employment Service Centre in Dong Nai Province, said most enterprises in the province operating in the wood processing, garment and textiles, electronics and footwear industries had a large demand for unskilled labour.

Twenty one industrial parks operating in the province needed to recruit 50,000 labourers a year, but they could only hire 4,500-5,000 through the employment exchanges, he said.

Enterprises participating in a job fair held in the province on September 5 offered 5,000 vacancies, but managed to recruit only a few hundred workers, Long said.

Only 1,000 job seekers attended the 19th employment fair held in April in Binh Duong Province, where more than 300 enterprises registered to recruit more than 20,500 workers, provincial reports said.

The Employment Service Centre in Ha Noi held 56 job fairs between 2007 and mid 2010, attracting the participation of more than 4,800 enterprises and nearly 150,800 visitors, said Vu Trung Chinh, the centre's director.

However, these events only met 20 per cent of enterprises' labour demand, with each one receiving an average of 1,874 applications, he added.

Low salaries and tough working conditions without other benefits were main reasons for workers not opting to accept employment with the factories in big cities and industrial zones, experts have said.

Weaknesses in the analysis of labour market data, poor forecasting skills and a lack of qualified staff were severely limiting the effectiveness of employment exchanges, Van said. — VNS

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