The National Assembly Standing Committee convened a meeting yesterday in Hà Nội. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – The National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) at a meeting yesterday gave initial comments on a draft report on workforce development policies titled 'Implementation of policies and laws on the development and utilisation of human resources to meet socio-economic development requirements, especially high-quality human resources'.

Presenting a summary of the draft report, chairman of the NA's Committee for Culture and Education and Standing Deputy Head of the Supervision Delegation Nguyễn Đắc Vinh stated that Việt Nam's workforce currently meets the requirements for continued socio-economic development.

“The scale of the workforce has developed, with an increasingly appropriate structure. Qualifications and skills of the labour force have improved. And labour productivity, employment and income have all seen positive changes," Vinh told the meeting.

In the public sector, officials, civil servants and public employees account for a small proportion of the total labour force, and most hold a university degree or higher. Recruitment, management and development of workers are conducted seriously, ensuring transparency and compliance with regulations, resulting in generally good quality and competency of personnel.

As for the non-public sector, the number of workers has increased with an average annual growth rate of approximately 0.7 per cent between 2021 and 2024, particularly in foreign-invested enterprises.

The quality of worker education and training has also steadily improved, better meeting demands for socio-economic development.

From 2018 to October 2024, 706 outstanding graduates and young scientists have been recruited into public agencies and organisations.

However, the Government, some ministries and sectors, and most localities have yet to issue comprehensive documents or long-term strategic directions for the development of a highly skilled workforce.

Việt Nam is facing the risk of a shortage in high-quality personnel, particularly leading experts and 'chief architects' in fields including science and technology, emerging economic sectors, defence and security industries, and other critical areas like law, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and meteorology.

Labour structure is shifting positively, but remains slow. Mechanisms and policies to attract, train, foster and employ talented individuals and skilled workers are still slow to reform.

The Supervision Delegation proposed institutionalising and effectively implementing four strategic resolutions of the Politburo, with a focus on workforce development policies and the Party’s orientations on education modernisation, public healthcare, population and development.

The Government has been asked to formulate a Workforce Development Strategy to 2030, and allocate sufficient resources to ensure its implementation as well as designate a lead agency for State management of labour development across both public and private sectors, with responsibilities including monitoring, forecasting, strategic planning, evaluating performance and building a national worker database.

To finalise the report, NA Vice Chairman Trần Quang Phương asked the delegation to review decisions by the Prime Minister related to the Party’s orientations, laws and NA resolutions in the 2021–2024 period.

He also recommended adding appendices with international case studies from countries with similar conditions, balancing the discussion between achievements and shortcomings.

Phương further urged clarification of the Government’s and ministries’ responsibilities in planning and policymaking, calling for innovation in labour-related forecasting.

“If the forecasting continues to follow a short-sighted mindset, it will be difficult to develop a comprehensive national strategy,” he said.

In his closing remarks, NA Vice Chairman Nguyễn Đức Hải requested the Supervision Delegation to receive the feedback from the NASC to improve the draft report, focusing on the core issue of completing institutions and policies on worker development and implementation to address obstacles and meet development demands for the country's new phase. VNS