Workers of the Hưng Hà Garment Factory under the Garco 10 Corporation 10 always maintain emulation campaigns to improve labour productivity. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hoài

HƯNG YÊN — With more than 1.6 million workers, Hưng Yên is witnessing a positive shift in its labour structure, clearly reflecting the rapid pace of industrialisation in the province in the Red River Delta region.

It also comes with increasingly high demands on workforce quality, requiring workers to continually learn, adapt and improve their skills to avoid falling behind.

Workers as precious assets

After nearly 10 years with the Hưng Hà Garment Factory, part of the Garco 10 Corporation, Vũ Văn Kiên has always felt secure in his work thanks to the enterprise’s attention to both income and employee development.

Worker Kiên said what made him decide to stay long-term was not just the stable salary but also training opportunities to enhance his professional skills.

From being an unskilled labourer, Kiên was trained and gradually became a highly skilled worker at the factory.

Moreover, through the enterprise environment, he had the chance to learn, strive and  eventually be admitted to the Communist Party of Việt Nam in 2021.

For him, this is not only recognition of his personal efforts but also motivation to continue striving, set an example in work and contribute to building a strong team.

Trần Thị Hương, director of the Hưng Hà Garment Factory in Hưng Hà Commune, said the factory has nearly 950 workers.

Recognising workers as both a goal and a driving force for development, the factory has in recent years fully implemented insurance regimes and maintained campaigns to boost labour productivity and increase workers’ income.

This year, the factory aims to raise the average salary for workers from VNĐ9.5–10 million (US$360–370) to VNĐ11 million (US$410) per person per month.

To achieve this, one of the key solutions the enterprise is focusing on is accelerating investment in automated equipment, applying technology and optimising production processes while simultaneously developing a high-quality workforce to meet the demands of high-value, complex technical product lines.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Thủy, deputy general director of Garco 10 Corporation, affirmed that the relationship between the enterprise and workers is a two-way and symbiotic one.

The enterprise creates conditions for workers to develop while workers are the direct creators of value, helping the enterprise advance further in the market.

“Therefore, investing in workers is investing in the enterprise’s future,” she said.

Thủy said that alongside caring for workers’ livelihoods, the corporation is pioneering production modernisation.

Applying artificial intelligence (AI), automated robotic equipment and operation analysis software helps optimise processes, reduce manual labour and improve product quality for export markets.

Currently, many workers of the corporation have become skilled artisans, mastering advanced technological equipment for production, contributing to affirming the Garco 10 brand in both domestic and international markets.

Putting workers at centre

Hưng Yên Province now has a population of over 3.5 million with more than 1.6 million workers. Of these, the industrial and construction sector has about 842,000 workers at more than 53,000 industrial production facilities, accounting for 50.1 per cent of the total workforce.

The labour structure is shifting positively; labour in the service, industrial and construction sectors is increasing rapidly in both quantity and proportion while gradually decreasing in agriculture.

This shift opens up many job opportunities but, at the same time, it poses an urgent need for retraining and skill enhancement for workers. Workers need to be equipped not only with professional skills but also soft skills and digital skills to meet increasingly high demands of the labour market.

According to the Hưng Yên Provincial Labour Federation, this year’s Workers’ Month, with the theme "Vietnamese Workers: Innovation, Creativity, Enhancing Labour Productivity", is a broad political-social activity aimed at putting workers at the centre, with grassroots trade unions as the foundation and tangible effectiveness as the measure.

During Workers’ Month, Hưng Yên Province strives for 70 per cent of enterprises to implement supportive activities; 10 per cent of union members and workers to propose initiatives; with at least 30 per cent of initiatives applied in practice.

In addition, many practical activities will be rolled out, such as the May Dialogue, forums for feedback on building trade union organisations, worker appreciation programmes and the Labour Skills - Sustainable Employment Job Fair.

It is not only an occasion to improve workers' livelihoods but also an opportunity to raise awareness and ignite the spirit of learning and creativity in every worker.

In the context of the economy’s strong transformation, skill enhancement is not just an immediate requirement but a long-term strategy for workers to affirm their position.

When workers are regarded as precious assets, systematically invested in and given development opportunities, they become the core driving force for enterprise growth.

This is also an important foundation for developin Hưng Yên Province into a modern industrial province with rapid and sustainable development. — VNS