New prospects for workers after social distancing

New prospects for workers after social distancing

Hanoi’s labour market is considered to have a relatively large demand after the social distancing measures came to an end, with some experts estimating the amount of newly available jobs to be around 10,000, especially in manufacturing and engineering sectors.

Ta Van Thao, director of the Hanoi Centre of Employee Services said that although the labour market was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been positively developing recently, in particular directly in Hanoi. After many restaurants and cafes were also allowed to reopen, the service sector is forecast to offer thousands of new jobs.

Currently, the Hanoi Centre of Employee Services is providing workers with a wide range of information about the labour market as well as consultancy services to improve their employment opportunities.

Specifically, the centre collects recruitment needs from businesses and job search enquiries of prospective workers, building a database of supply and demand. From there, the centre connects employers and job seekers in many ways, mostly online via computers or smartphones.

As of now, about 1,200 businesses have registered with the Hanoi Centre of Employee Services, ready to offer new opportunities to more than 12,000 employees.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change in the production model and the mode of operation of many industries. Since the health emergency is for now controlled in Vietnam, the labour demand is continuing to increase again.

In particular, businesses focusing on tech applications are now looking for new recruitment options to fill their ranks. Therefore, workers need to promptly adapt to these new conditions to meet the needs of possible employers.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City has also implemented various activities to support employers and employees, such as extending the time to pay social insurance for businesses, to help restart the labour market which had been frozen in the first five months of the year.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Employment Service Centre said that many businesses are in the process of raising their recruitment targets from a few dozen to a few hundred employees. These targets focus on industries such as marketing, transportation, customer care, and financial consulting.

The centre plans to soon conduct a direct survey about the labour needs of local business to then organise different activities to support businesses and employees in early July.

According to the latest survey by VietnamWorks, after social distancing ended, nearly 60 per cent of businesses have proved a certain ability to maintain and continue business development. Up to 39 per cent of participating businesses are optimistic that they will soon restore recruitment activities, of which 14 per cent can resume recruitment immediately.

In an effort to leave no one behind during the pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City had spent VND640 billion ($28 million) supporting people in financially-vulnerable positions.

Furthermore, an additional package of VND852 billion ($37 million) will be granted soon to support about 300,000 workers without a fixed workplace such as waste collectors, carriers, transporters, and motorcyclists.

In March, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council approved a financial support package worth VND2.75 trillion ($115 million) to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 and to support employees affected by the pandemic.