HCM CITY — This year’s Assistance Programme for Workers was launched last weekend to provide free employment information for people who are seeking jobs in HCM City and other provinces, including Quảng Bình, Quảng Nam, Cần Thơ, Tiền Giang, and Đắk Nông.

The programme, which is carried out by the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union, traditionally lasts from after the Tết holiday until the end of the year.

In the programme, workers also are provided occupational counselling in addition introductions to companies looking for workers, said Nguyễn Quang Cường, director of the Youth Employment Service Centre of HCM City, which is a part of the youth union.

Workers can come to booths at bus terminals in the city or the centre to be introduced to possible jobs, Cường said.

One difference in this year’s programme is that the centre is co-operating with nine other employment service centres in Quảng Bình, Quảng Nam, Cần Thơ, Tiền Giang, Phú Yên and Đắk Nông provinces to exchange employment information.

Local people of these provinces who want to seek jobs in other localities can go to local employment service centres to get information and be provided counselling as well as introductions directly to enterprises for applications and interviews.

The co-operation will help reduce the risk of being cheated through illegal employment service providers, he added.

During the launching ceremony on Saturday, a job fair also was organised to connect employees and employers.

More than 70 companies attended the job fair, seeking to fill 10,000 job positions. These firms are in fields of plastic manufacturing, consultancy, transportation and others. 

The needed positions are accountants, traders, graphic designers, electronic or mechanic engineers and others.

Bình Minh Plastic Joint Stock Company, for instance, is seeking to recruit chemical, electronic, electric or mechanic engineers, traders, accountants, statistician and manual workers for manufacturing in HCM City, Bình Dương Province and Long An Province.

Provincial centres provided buses for local people seeking jobs to attend the fair.

Lê Ngọc Bảo Ngân of Cần Thơ College said that she came to the fair to speak to a job counselor.

“I will graduate in June. I have applied to many enterprises in Cần Thơ. Today, I came to the fair to seek more opportunities,” Ngân said.

Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Lan, 24, who recently graduated from HCM City Open University, said that the fair provided opportunities to meet with many companies.

Vương Hoàng Phong, 36, of HCM City’s District 8, spent around eight months seeking a manual job because he only finished 12^th grade.

“After reading information about the fair in the newspaper, I came to the fair and hope to get a job,” Phong said.

The Assistance Programme for Workers started six years ago, attracting 14,762 enterprises with more than 135,980 recruitment positions in many fields.

The programme has provided employment counseling and introductions for more than 49,210 people. Of them, more than 25 per cent have gotten interviews or jobs. — VNS