HCM CITY — Recruitment demand is expected to rise for the rest of the year as companies plan to expand their production, labour market reports have revealed.

Many Chinese-owned companies and Chinese joint ventures, most of which are partners with European firms, are investing in manufacturing factories, especially in textiles and footwear, according to Navigos Search, the leading provider of executive search services in Việt Nam.

The factories typically will have only 100 – 200 workers each in the first year, but will expand later to accommodate 400- 500 workers based on export demand.

Chinese companies and joint ventures need candidates who are proficient both in Chinese and English, especially for technical sales positions.

Companies that provide hi-tech financial services have high demand for IT engineers with experience in data fields and finance.

However, companies often are forced to hire foreigners to fill these positions, especially those requiring high skills, as Việt Nam’s workforce lacks a sufficient number of candidates, according to the report.

Many companies must hire new graduates and train employees after they are hired.

Data technology is expected to be a fast-growing industry in the next three years. Companies need engineers in data processing and machine learning, which is part of the artificial intelligence (AI) field. But there are only a few universities in Việt Nam that offer majors or training in AI. 

South Korean companies in the second quarter are expected to recruit more mid- and senior-level managers compared to the first quarter, but finding staff is difficult because of the cultural demands of working at Korean companies, according to the report.

Candidates with an MA or PhD who can speak Korean have an advantage and are offered better compensation and benefits, particularly at research and development institutes.

Many Korean companies are located in the northern region, which has a scarcity of candidates who can speak the language compared to the south. As such, companies often recruit staff in the south.

Trần Anh Tuấn, deputy head of HCM City’s Human Resources Forecasting and Labour Market Information Centre, said that companies needed staff with high qualifications, a serious attitude toward work, and a desire to learn foreign languages.

The centre’s report released on June 27 said the city would need 139,000 workers for the remaining six months of the year, mostly in textile and garments, logistics, IT and construction.

Manual workers

Phạm Văn Cộng, deputy head of Đồng Nai Province’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that Vietnamese-owned enterprises needed workers in textile and garments, the processing industry and rubber.

For several years, foreign companies hired 80 per cent of around 60,000 workers in the province, according to the department.

More workers are needed in the rubber industry as it has recovered recently, according to the province. 

More than 1,500 new enterprises were established in the first six months, with total registered capital of more than VNĐ20 trillion (US$879.39 million), an increase of 150 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to a report from the province’s Department of Planning and Investment.

More than 11,000 manual workers were employed in the first six months of the year, according to the province’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Cộng of the department said that nearly 45,000 manual workers will be needed in the province for the remainder of the year.  —VNS