Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese workers abroad contribute 6.5-7 billion USD in annual remittances. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam plans to restructure its overseas labour mobility markets, advancing to high-skill labour migration and expanding into advanced economies facing worker shortages such as Germany, Canada, and Australia, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang has said.
At a dialogue with more than 100 labour export service providers on October 30, Thang highlighted that Vietnam is transforming the ways it manages the sending of Vietnamese workers abroad for employment under contract, shifting from pre-approval control to post-inspection while slashing unnecessary business conditions and administrative procedures to create a transparent environment.
Labour mobility has been a pillar of the economy, he said, elaborating hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese workers abroad contribute 6.5-7 billion USD in annual remittances, helping alleviate poverty and build new-style rural areas. Beyond the economic value, sending workers overseas also serves as a form of people-to-people diplomacy, allowing Vietnamese workers to sharpen their profession and skills.
However, he acknowledged persistent challenges, including high service fees or non-transparent recruitment practices in several companies, workers breaking contracts or overstaying abroad, workers’ insufficient language and professional skills, and complicated procedures.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will revise several circulars regarding labour mobility and develop a strategy on sending Vietnamese labourers to work under contracts in foreign countries by 2030 with a vision to 2045, Thang said, laying stress on the significance of a transparent legal environment to business development.
He asked the Department of Overseas Labour to join hands with competent agencies to step up negotiations with foreign partners, urging them to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers and labour migration service providers. Along with reducing unnecessary procedures, it must accelerate digital transformation in handling administrative procedures.
In January - October, more than 121,000 Vietnamese workers were sent abroad for employment, or 93.2 per cent of the year’s target. For the 2021-2025 period, the total number is projected to reach some 636,000, exceeding the goal by 127 per cent.