A dragon fruit orchard in Hậu Giang Province’s Châu Thành A District. The province has effectively provided vocational skills to people in rural areas over the last decade. – VNA/VNS Photo Duy Khương

HẬU GIANG — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Hậu Giang plans to train 32,500 people in vocational skills in 2021 – 25 to increase the rate of trained workers to 70 per cent.

It also plans to restructure its workforce so that agriculture, forestry and fisheries account for 51 per cent, industry and construction for 19 per cent and services for 30 per cent.

It plans to create 15,000 jobs a year during the five-year period and to ensure 90 per cent of workers in local companies are trained.

Hồ Thu Ánh, deputy chairwoman of the province People’s Committee, said advocacy activities would be strengthened to enhance public awareness of the importance of vocational skills training and persuade all social classes to attend training.

The province also plans to renovate and improve the training by incorporating the requirements of companies and the market.

It will develop a vocational training curriculum in which employers and employees can actively participate in evaluation of training quality.

It will improve its forecast of labour demand in the short, medium and long terms, especially in trading, industry and services, to meet the province’s socio-economic development and international integration goals.

It will develop a job services system that collects and processes data on the labour market, links demand and supply in the market, and forecasts its trends.

It will strengthen investment in infrastructure for vocational skill training to improve quality and meet the requirements of employers.

It is encouraging training establishments to use companies and other employers’ facilities for trainees to practise their skills.

Training

The province has been training people in rural areas in vocational skill for the last 10 years, according to Hồng Xuân Bình, deputy director of its Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

In 2010 – 20, 93,590 people were trained and 86.4 per cent of them have jobs now.

The rate of trained workers in the period has more than doubled from 30 per cent to 61.2 per cent.

“Trained workers have used their skills to improve incomes, helping sustainably reduce poverty,” Bình said.

The province has 30 establishments that provide vocational training such as making handicraft products from water hyacinth, industrial sewing, cooking, fruit cultivation, and other agriculture - related skills.

Hà Xuân Hương, who attended a vocational skill course in making handicrafts from water hyacinth in Vị Thuỷ District’s Vĩnh Thuận Tây Commune, now makes carpets for the Thanh Tú Co-operative in her free time.

The co-operative provides her with the raw materials to weave the carpets and she is paid for her products, earning VNĐ100,000 – 150,000 (US$4.4 – 6.5) a day by weaving six to eight metres of water-hyacinth carpets.

“Weaving the carpets helps my family earn an additional income and stabilised our lives,” Hương said. — VNS