HCM CITY – Authorities in HCM City and leaders of mould-making companies needed to use more advanced technologies and training, experts said.

Lê Hoài Quốc, the head of the management board of the Sài Gòn Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), said since the Samsung factory opened in SHTP, the demand for mould-making had risen.

However, domestic mould-making production capacity was limited and could only supply a small portion of the moulds needed for the production of computers and other technologies.

Currently, the largest domestic mould-making companies include Duy Khanh, Lập Phúc, Duy Tân, Cát Thái and Minh Nguyên, and they were not able to meet market demand.

Châu Bá Long, the operations director of Minh Nguyên, said the company’s total revenue from supplying moulds to Samsung was about US$15 million, and accounted for only one per cent of the tech giant’s demand.

Small domestic firms in HCM City also lacked skilled workers due to more attractive foreign direct investment firms and workers moving overseas.

Long said the lack of skilled workers was due to the fact the country did not have any professional training in mould-making.

A lack of co-operation between mould producers was another cause of concern, expert said.

Fairs and exhibitions were needed to advertise domestic moulds and promote co-operation, which would help raise capacity and quality, he added.

Bùi Huyền Ngọc, a representative of a mould-making company operating in HCM City, said the industry lacked highly skilled techniques and human resources, while equipment for mould production was costly.

Human resources played an important role in the development of mould production, which depended mainly on experience, knowledge and creativity.

To solve this problem, Lập Phúc Company has been working with universities and colleges to launch training courses for students to attract skilled graduates.

A final year mechanics student at HCM City’s Technical College Dương Quang Thiện has been taking a training course at Lập Phúc Company.

“Thanks to the course, I have chances to practise my technical skills and gain more experience,” he said.

The enterprise and the school launched the project to equip students with practical skills that match business requirements.

Thiện and 17 other students on the course hope that after graduation they will be offered a position at the company.

Lập Phúc is also working with Nguyễn Tất Thành University to train hundreds of mechanics students and is also holding factory visits for students.

According to a survey, more than 70 per cent of labourers working in industrial zones around the city were from other provinces and mostly unskilled. It was difficult to form a solid training plan because the number of labourers fluctuated, a representative of Lập Phúc said. – VNS