Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs promotes cooperation in human resource development with Germany

According to a VNA correspondent in Germany, on the afternoon of December 8, in Erfurt city of Thuringia state (Thüringen) in central Germany, a working delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs led by Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang held talks and worked with Mr. Mario Voigt, Governor of Thuringia state, and leaders of ministries and branches of this state on labor cooperation and human resource development.

Báo Tin Tức•09/12/2025

Photo caption — A working delegation from the Ministry of the Interior works with leaders of Thuringia state. Photo: Thu Hang/VNA reporter in Germany

Attending the meeting were Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development Colette Boos-John; State Secretary in charge of agriculture Marcus Malsch; representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) of South Thuringia and the Association of German Enterprises in Asia- Pacific (AWO) in Thuringia, and representatives of the Embassy of Vietnam in Germany.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang expressed his pleasure to visit and work in Thuringia State at a meaningful time when the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Deputy Minister highly appreciated the Vietnam - Germany Strategic Partnership that is developing deeply and effectively, and thanked Thuringia State for supporting Vietnam with medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the state's investment and vocational training activities in Vietnam in recent times.

Discussing the potential for cooperation, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang said that Germany in general and Thuringia State in particular have a great need for additional high-quality human resources, skilled workers and seasonal workers to develop the economy in the context of an aging population. Meanwhile, Vietnam, with its advantage of a young population, intelligent, hard-working, eager-to-learn and skilled workforce, can fully meet the needs of the Thuringia State's labor market.

The two sides had in-depth discussions on mechanisms and policies to promote sending Vietnamese workers to work in Thuringia state. Discussions focused on ensuring transparent, fair, ethical recruitment processes that comply with the laws of both countries. Leaders of the two sides also agreed on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, ensuring that Vietnamese workers are treated equally in terms of working environment, social security and income equivalent to local workers.

Representatives of the state of Thuringia, the specialized agencies for economy, agriculture and rural development, the IHK and the AWO Association also shared about the actual needs and projects for attracting human resources in the fields of agriculture, nursing and engineering.

Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang and Prime Minister Mario Voigt agreed to continue directing the two sides' focal agencies to closely coordinate and soon complete the legal frameworks to realize the discussed contents, contributing to deepening and substantivizing the cooperative relationship between the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs and Thuringia State.

Before that, the delegation visited and worked at the John F. Kennedy Nursing Home of Vivantes LLC in Berlin. Receiving and working with the delegation were Director Heike Sporkhorst, Head of Nursing Management Stefan Will, and representatives of the foreign human resource selection and integration management department of Vivantes LLC.

John F. Kennedy Nursing Home was established in 2010 and is one of 18 Nursing Homes of the Vivantes system. Of the total 164 staff of the Home, there are 132 nurses, including 18 Vietnamese staff. Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang and the working group directly visited the patient care room, toured and learned about the actual organizational and operational model of the Home.

Also at the meeting, Director of the Center for Overseas Labor (COLAB) Dang Huy Hong reported on the positive cooperation results between COLAB and Vivantes. In phase 1 (2015 - 2022), the two sides coordinated to select, train and send 916 workers to Germany. Workers participated in a 2-year vocational training course and received scholarships of 1,100 - 1,300 euros/month. After graduating and obtaining a German national certificate, workers were signed to an indefinite-term contract with a starting salary of 3,000 euros/month.

For the second phase of the program, workers are supported with German language training costs up to level B2 in Vietnam, living expenses of 300 euros/month for 18 months of language study, along with visa costs, airfare, diploma recognition, etc. When coming to Germany, workers work as nursing assistants, receiving a salary of 3,209 euros/month. After completing a 12-month training course to become a nurse, the salary can increase to 4,078 euros/month.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang highly appreciated the model of the John F. Kennedy Nursing Home in caring for the elderly, and thanked the Institute for receiving and creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese nurses. The Deputy Minister emphasized: "Vietnam is in the golden population period but has been carefully preparing for economic and social issues and solutions when the population enters the aging stage, focusing on building nursing homes to care for the elderly."

Through this visit, the Deputy Minister hopes to learn about the Institute's operating and care model to apply in Vietnam in the near future. The delegation of the Ministry of Home Affairs asked the John F. Kennedy Nursing Home to share experiences in nursing training, management, operation and essential conditions for operating a nursing home. Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang also asked the Institute to continue to pay attention to, train and transfer skills to Vietnamese nurses. For Vietnamese nurses working here, the Deputy Minister advised them to comply with labor contracts, actively study German and vocational skills to become high-quality human resources when returning to Vietnam.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/bo-noi-vu-viet-nam-thuc-day-hop-tac-phat-trien-nguon-nhan-luc-voi-duc-20251209172721756.htm