Demand for workers fluent in Japanese sees sharp increase in Vietnam

The JapanWorks Job Fair, held today by online job listing platforms VietnamWorks and JapanWorks, saw the participation of 11 Japanese companies, nine of them in information technology (IT), the other two being Honda and Toyota.

These companies are only some of the many that are looking for Japanese speaking candidates; and according to Gaku Echizenya, VietnamWorks's chairman and CEO, the demand for this particular type of candidates has been on a steady increase in the past few years.

“VietnamWorks’ data shows that the number of positions that require fluency in Japanese grew 40 per cent this year compared to last year,” he said, attributing the increase to the fact that Japanese direct investment in Vietnam was increasing and many Japanese companies planned to grow their business in Vietnam.

According to Echizenya, the highest hiring demand is in IT, as many offshore IT outsourcing companies have come to Vietnam for the relatively lower cost of IT talents.

The second highest demand is for interpreters, followed by positions in manufacturing. Retail is also very popular. “There are many shops in the Aeon Malls in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and their hiring needs is huge,” he explained. “Many Japanese companies want to grow their retail shops in Vietnam because Vietnamese’s salary is growing so people can buy more things,”

JapanWorks Job Fair, held in Hanoi on December 12 and Ho Chi Minh City on December 19, is the chance for Japanese speaking candidates to interact with potential employers, get to know the work culture in Japanese companies and receive career advices. The Hanoi event attracted 500 candidates.

Japan is Vietnam’s third biggest investor in the first 11 months of this year, right after South Korea and Malaysia, according to the data reported by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, registering $1.72 billion in 281 new projects and in the expansion of 129 existing projects.