A farmer tends mango trees in An Giang Province. The province plans to provide vocational training to 12,000 rural workers this year. – VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

AN GIANG – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang plans to provide vocational training to 12,000 people living in rural areas this year and jobs for 80 per cent of them subsequently, according to its Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

It will spend about VNĐ14.5 billion (US$623,000) to set up the training courses.

There will be 200 courses related to agriculture for 5,000 trainees and 269 non-agricultural courses for the remaining 7,000.

Phạm Sơn, deputy director of the department, said the focus would be on providing vocational skills to people who really need them and based on policies that are in place.

The department would get each locality to check the demand for vocational training there and demand for skilled workers, he said.

“In providing agricultural vocational skills, the province will focus on expanding training courses that have been proven effective. The courses will be organised at companies, craft villages and specialised farming areas.”

The province plans to focus on vocational skills that are needed by local businesses so that trainees can easily find jobs.

To encourage people to participate in vocational training courses, the province will provide stipends of VNĐ2.5 – 6 million ($107 - 257) to women trainees and those with disability, are from ethnic or poor and near-poor backgrounds or are beneficiaries of the Government’s preferential policies, according to the department.

They will also be provided VNĐ30,000 ($1.3) a day for food. They are also provided VNĐ300,000 ($13) for transport during the course if they live more than 15km from the vocational training centre.

After the courses finish, the trainees will be provided soft loans for agriculture or doing business.

An Giang has 22 vocational training establishments that offer training in 15 agricultural occupations and 48 non- agricultural ones.

Last year the province organised 461 vocational training courses for 12,000 rural residents and 80 per cent of them have since found jobs.

In collaboration with eight local companies it provided vocational training based on their requirements to 1,955 people, and more than 90 per cent of them were hired to work by those enterprises.

The province has created vocational training models that also create jobs for trainees like breeding freshwater aquatic creatures, cultivating rice-straw mushroom, growing vegetables in net houses, and breeding cows and oxen. They have proven effective and have potential for further development.

Many farmers in Châu Thành District’s Vĩnh Lợi Commune, for instance, have successfully grown rice-straw mushroom on shelves or cylinder-shaped substrate indoors after receiving training from the district agriculture extension station.

Rice-straw mushrooms grown in the open air depend on weather conditions while indoor growing methods do not depend on natural conditions.

According to Nguyễn Thị Dàng, an agricultural official at the station, the model of growing rice-straw mushroom on shelves or cylinder-shaped substrate indoors has advantages and potential for development.

The cost of growing rice-straw mushroom is low while market demand for the mushroom is high.

The province also has policies to support farmers to grow rice-straw mushroom.

“With the advantages and support policies, rice-straw mushroom on shelves or cylinder shape substrate is a new farming model for farmers in the district.” – VNS