Cần Thơ City has seen an increasing number of labourers working abroad. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

CẦN THƠ CITY — The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ continues to see an increasing number of residents working abroad thanks to local employment and job assistance programmes.

Nearly 500 people left to work abroad as of mid-April, according to the Cần Thơ City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Nearly 300 people worked abroad last year, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2017.

Most of the employees were manual labourers in construction, mechanics, electronics, food processing, textile-garment, agriculture and other sectors, earning between VNĐ14 million and VNĐ18 million (US$601-773) per month.

Labourers working in Japan and South Korea had the highest income, with VNĐ26 million to VNĐ48 million ($1,116-2,062) per month.

Châu Hồng Thái, the deputy head of the department, said that Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan were the city’s main labour export markets thanks to new policies allowing labourers from other countries to work for five years and to later return to work in certain industries after their contracts expire.

The cost to enter these markets is lower than in the US and European markets.

In January, four Malaysian and South Korean enterprises signed agreements with the city’s Employment Service Centre to organise training courses and tests for guest workers abroad.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Vân, deputy head of the Employment Service Centre, said that it had been working with local authorities to provide workers with more information about jobs, skill levels, countries for guest workers, and monthly incomes.

The centre also maintains contact with workers abroad and their relatives to identify any problems and solve them in time, Vân said.

A Job Day involving 28 enterprises was held in the first quarter of the year, attracting nearly 1,000 people.

More than 9,340 people were needed, but many of the attendees had poor skills and low proficiency in foreign languages.

Only 200 of 1,000 attendees were hired at the Job Day event.

Vân said the city is working with foreign language training centres and vocational training schools to solve these shortcomings.

The centre is also providing job assistance to people returning to Cần Thơ after their job contract abroad expires.

The workers are encouraged to return to Việt Nam and not stay illegally in the country after their contract ends.

Most people who want to work abroad have financial difficulties, according to city authorities.

Thái, deputy head of the labour department, said the city would provide funds from its budget to the Bank for Social Policies to provide loans to guest workers so they can pay their initial costs for working abroad.

Thái said that people who want to work abroad should seek help from official agencies only to prevent cheating by others who claim to help them.

The department is also working with the police to monitor and fine enterprises which cheat and collect illegal amounts of money from people who want to work abroad, he added. — VNS