Participants at the Nordic Day 2024 event on Wednesday in HCM City.— Photo courtesy of the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

HCM CITY — Learning from successful models like the ones used in the Nordic Region, is important for Việt Nam to leverage its potential to create a dynamic and inclusive labour market.

That was the message from President of Fulbright University Việt Nam, Professor Scott Fritzen speaking at the Nordic Day 2024 event on Wednesday in HCM City.

The theme of this year's event is "Adapting Việt Nam's Labour Market - Lessons Learned from the Nordic Region and Implications for Việt Nam."

The Nordic Embassies in Việt Nam (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden), in collaboration with the Fulbright University co-organised the conference.

This year marks the sixth edition in conjunction with the Nordic Day on March 23.

Fritzen said they were honoured to co-host the event and contribute to the discussions on Việt Nam's evolving labour market.

"We believe that this event will provide valuable insights and inspire actionable strategies to shape Việt Nam's future workforce," he said.

Ambassador of Norway Hilde Solbakken said dialogue between government, employers and workers has been central to the development of the welfare state in the Nordic countries, and in enabling our economies and labour markets to adapt to a continuously changing world. 

"I hope that sharing the Nordic experiences can contribute to Việt Nam's journey towards a highly skilled, innovative, and equitable labour market," she added.

Việt Nam now aims to become a higher-income country with net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, the country is shifting its labour market towards high-skill, high-tech industries and technology. This transformation necessitates a focus on innovation, digitalisation, vocational training, education, skill development, and investments in research and development.

"Security and innovation are key to the success of the Nordic Region,” said ambassador of Finland Keijo Norvanto.

The social security net in the Nordic countries fosters innovation by providing individuals with the confidence to take risks and think creatively. This allows them to explore new ideas without the fear of losing everything they have built in life, he said.

He added that the Nordics also pay great attention to work-life balance. Employee-friendly working time, flexibility at work, strong support for families including parental leaves and affordable day care, are just some of the social innovations that we are taking to ensure a healthy balance between work and personal lives.

Việt Nam has committed to ratify, during the 2021-30 period, all of the International Labour Organisation's core conventions on labour standards, including Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association.

Strengthening workplace dialogue and improving working conditions are essential aspects of this commitment. Additionally, Việt Nam faces the challenge of an aging population, which will eventually test its social welfare system.

Ambassador of Sweden Ann Måwe highlighted the importance of developing robust plans including social insurance systems to face challenges such as an aging population, which eventually will also be a pressing reality for Việt Nam.

The "Nordic model" offers valuable lessons on how to improve and adapt the labour market to meet the demands of the global and greener economy.

The Nordic countries are renowned for their public provision of social services funded by taxes, investments in education, childcare, elderly health care, and other services associated with human capital.

They also prioritise strong labour-force protections through independent unions and a robust social safety net.

Notably, the Nordic countries rank among the world's richest nations in terms of per capita GDP and excel in global innovation.— VNS