A company interviews candidates at a  job fair held at HCM City International University under the Việt Nam National University-HCM City. VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — The effectiveness of free trade agreements, especially the EU– Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement, has helped to increase export orders for textile and garment enterprises in Việt Nam, leading to high recruitment demand in the first and second quarter, according to Navigos Group, a recruitment service provider in Việt Nam.

Compared to the same period in 2020, the recruitment demand in this industry has risen by 50 per cent to 60 per cent, especially for middle and senior management positions.

Textile and garment enterprises are in need of  many positions in both production and commercial office departments in Southeast Asia and Việt Nam.

Candidates are required to have working experience in countries in the Southeast Asia region, including Việt Nam. However, many Vietnamese candidates meet the professional criteria but lack working experience in the region.

The Federation of Labour and companies in the textile, garment and footwear industries in the southern province of Bình Dương said that many workers are needed.

Representatives in human resources at companies have set up a small booth on an industrial park campus for recruitment, according to Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper. 

A company in the province’s Đồng An Industry Park said that it needs more than 2,000 workers. Its managers have a policy to give bonuses of VNĐ1 million (US$) for staff who can find others to work there. The company also provides allowances for transport and accommodation, and other benefits, to workers.  

According to the Federation of Labour, the province needs more than 4,000 workers as many companies have seen an increase in the number of orders in the first months because of increased e-commerce activity.

Many workers did not return to their jobs after the Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays, it added.

IT industry

Navigos Group said that besides high demand in the textile and garment industry, some companies in the IT industry this year will have 20 per cent to 25 per cent more demand compared to 2020.

The first quarter of 2021 saw growth in labour demand at IT companies, especially in outsourcing and product segments, with plans to expand the scope of operations and business.

As financial services enterprises are in the process of digital transformation, there is a very high demand for IT positions.

Recruitment requests from these IT companies often focus on Vietnamese candidates.

Finance and banking

The sharp increase in the number of new investors in Việt Nam's stock market in the first quarter has affected recruitment demand at securities firms, according to the Navigos Group.

Positions related to customer relations are being recruited and are expected to increase.

In the first quarter, Navigos Search said that banks had great recruitment demands in the fields of priority customers, technology, legal, compliance, and bancassurance. Technology-related positions are being offered at attractive salaries.

Positions that need candidates from Japan and South Korea in the insurance industry and in risk management and internal control in the securities industry are difficult to fill because most candidates do not meet the requirements.

Continuing the trend from 2020, overseas Vietnamese candidates in the fields of digital transformation, technology, data and marketing in the financial and banking industry are needed.

According to the HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information, enterprises in the city need nearly 68,600-73,500 workers for IT, finance-banking and others.

Because of digital transformation and the impact caused by COVID-19 leading to e-commerce development, many enterprises in the city need analysts as well as cybersecurity and software engineers. VNS