A cooperative that makes hand-knitted products at Thời Hòa B Village in Cần Thơ City’s Cờ Đỏ Town helps local Khmer residents have a stable income. — Photo baocantho.com.vn

CẦN THƠ — The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ plans to spend VNĐ200 billion (US$8.6 million) on a vocational training and job creation programme for ethnic minorities this year.

With more than VNĐ90 billion ($3.9 million) from local budgets, the programme kicked off this month.

The programme is expected to reduce the poverty and unemployment rate for local ethnic minority people in the city.

Cần Thơ has 27 ethnic minority groups with 36,133 people, accounting for 3.04 per cent of the city’s total population.
Of this number, there are 21,907 people of working age. Of these, about 10 percent are unskilled labourers and 72 per cent are in need of vocational training.

This year, the city will offer vocational training for at least 20 percent of its local ethnic minority people who are of working age and untrained, or about 440 people.

Each ethnic minority student at college-level vocational training schools and vocational training institutions will receive VNĐ3 million ($129) per course.

Ethnic minority students taking part in short-term vocational traning courses (primary level or fewer than three months) will be offered free tuition at rates, depending on each circumstance.

If ethnic minority students given vocational training lose their jobs, the district people's committees will consider offering them vocational training no more than two more times if they would like a job in another field.

Career counseling and job introduction will be given to students after graduation.

As part of the programme, the city’s Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is opening vocational training classes according to the labour demand of local firms and investors.

Many local companies have committed to offer jobs to ethnic minority students at least one year after graduation.

It is estimated that about 300 ethnic minority labourers will be provided jobs at these companies.

The city's labour sector will also focus on resolving shortcomings in vocational training and job creation for ethnic minority labourers.

According to recent statistics from the city’s Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, most vocational training facilities for ethnic minority people focus on household sewing, industrial sewing, knitting, beading and agriculture.

However, ethnic minority youth are more interested in modern technology, and design and information technology, but many vocational schools do not offer such training.
The city has asked the sub-departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Ethnic Minority Groups sub-departments, in all districts to provide vocational training suited to the desires of local labourers.

The goal is to diversify training in the non-agricultural sector and create more job opportunities for students.

The city will also invest more in facilities and equipment, check training quality of vocational education, and improve the quality of training facilities. — VNS