Apple's assembly partner is 'thirsty' for unskilled workers

Businesses in Bac Giang province need to recruit more than 103,000 workers this year, mainly Apple's partner factories, while Foxconn accepts candidates who have finished 6th grade or higher.

The wave of industrial park expansion and businesses increasing production scale, and the return of orders have led to an increasing demand for recruitment in Bac Giang. According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of this province, this year, factories need to recruit more than 103,000 workers, mostly unskilled workers.

Foxconn's large recruitment board hangs on a high-rise building in Bac Giang, early 2023. Photo: Hong Chieu — Foxconn's large recruitment board hangs on a high-rise building in Bac Giang, early 2023. Photo: *Hong Chieu*

In the first 6 months of the year alone, Foxconn Science and Technology Group - Apple's component supplier - needed to recruit 15,000 workers for its factories located in Dinh Tram and Quang Chau industrial parks. For the whole year, the company registered to recruit more than 27,000 workers.

Officially operating in Vietnam since March 2007, Foxconn set up its first factories in Bac Ninh , Bac Giang and then expanded to several northern provinces. This group is an important link in the Apple device production chain.

Companies that manufacture components for Foxconn, such as New Wing Interconnect Technology (Van Trung Industrial Park), need 27,000 workers, and two months after Tet, they are recruiting more than 6,000 workers. Similarly, Fukang Technology needs to recruit more than 13,600 people.

Some other large enterprises such as Luxshare- ICT Company located factories in Quang Chau and Van Trung industrial parks recruited 47,300 workers this year. The number of registrations in February and March only fluctuated between 200-300 workers each batch, but in June and July, the factory in Van Trung Industrial Park alone needed 7,000-9,000 workers each month to handle orders.

These factories need workers with a general education level, "priority given to those aged 18 to 40 and in good health". Foxconn, in particular, requires candidates who have completed 6th grade or higher to be hired. The basic salary for workers in this segment is 5 million VND, with social insurance contributions according to regulations and some other benefits.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hue, Director of Bac Giang Employment Service Center, said that 5 million VND is the common level of factories in the area. Enterprises attract and retain workers mainly through benefits such as housing support, food allowances or overtime regimes, raising the total income of workers to 8-9 million VND per month.

Workers participate in interviews at the Bac Giang Employment Service Center, July 2023. Photo: Xuan Hoa — Workers participate in interviews at the Bac Giang Employment Service Center, July 2023. Photo: *Xuan Hoa*

According to Mr. Hue, factories simultaneously recruit large numbers at the beginning and middle of the year to meet production plans, making it difficult to find workers and unable to supply them in time. In contrast to the scene of workers looking for jobs in early 2023, orders after the Lunar New Year are abundant, so factories are looking for ways to retain old workers.

"The human resources department of many businesses has had to travel to mountainous villages in the North and the Central region to recruit people, or ask workers in the company to introduce relatives and friends," he said.

Bac Giang currently has more than 7,600 operating enterprises, attracting 306,000 workers. Of which, local workers account for 80% and non-local workers account for 20%. The province is one of the localities with bustling real estate in the past 5-6 years with the wave of industrial park development.

Hong Chieu

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