Vietnam Training Program for Rural Workforce Fails to Meet Targets

The Vietnamese government’s rural occupational training for the 2010-2014 period under the 1956 project has not resulted in higher quality workforce for the country’s rural areas, failing to equip Vietnamese farmers and traditional low-skilled workers with more professional skills in a changing economy. Vietnam has about 17 million people in the formal workforce, equal to 31.5% of the total workforce, and another 37 million informal workers, of whom 24 million live in the rural areas. Most rural workers are still in agriculture, but the share of private sector wage workers has increased in urban areas. The government’s 1956 project was initiated in 2009 with the aim of training 17 million rural workers in agriculture, mechanics, craftsmanship, handicraft, and other technical skills till 2020. The project is estimated to cost VND25.98 trillion ($1.19 billion) total, including VND24.69 trillion for rural vocational training and VND1.28 trillion for local leader training. Between 2010 and 2013, the project provided training for 1.29 million rural residents. However, many residents have failed to find suitable jobs or access bank loans, and thus, had to return to traditional farming or low-wage seasonal jobs. Over 61% of those receiving training have continued to work in agriculture. The situation is mostly attributed to poor training quality and the race by local authorities to achieve on-paper targets while ignoring actual job creation. According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s rural population was estimated at 60.7 million in 2013, accounting for 66.7% of the total population. While the size of its workforce is still expanding, Vietnam’s youth population is shrinking. This means that Vietnam cannot continue to rely on the size of its workforce to advance these transitions; it also needs to focus on making its workforce more productive, the WB said in a report. (Tin Tuc – News Aug 11 p4)