Solutions to attract high-quality human resources for cooperatives

According to experts, besides typical models, most cooperatives still face difficulties in terms of scale, capital, market and especially high-quality human resources, which are key factors for sustainable development, especially in the period when the whole country is restructuring and streamlining the administrative apparatus.

In reality, the qualifications of the staff in some cooperatives are still low, many cooperative management staff are old and have not received basic professional training; while young human resources are not interested in participating in the production activities of cooperatives and collective economic organizations. Therefore, attracting high-quality human resources for many cooperatives is difficult due to their small scale. On the contrary, high-quality labor resources think that cooperatives are not their destination, making the problem of attracting this force to join the cooperative even more difficult.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Director of Tan Hoa Dong Agricultural Service Cooperative (Tien Giang) shared that recruiting and retaining high-quality human resources is still a difficult problem for many cooperatives. With 10 members and workers, the management apparatus of Tan Hoa Dong Cooperative consists of 2 people with university degrees and 1 person who is a farmer. The salary paid to university-educated staff is 6 million VND/person/month, while farmer workers receive 5 million VND/person/month.

People in Song Cau town take care of and harvest raw tea on the area. (Photo: thainguyen.gov.vn)

Although it is planning to expand production and is in great need of highly qualified human resources, with the current remuneration level, Tan Hoa Dong Cooperative is well aware of the difficulty in attracting and retaining capable people.

"With a salary of 6 million VND/month, it is difficult to ensure a living and expect qualified people to stay long-term. Currently, members and leaders of the cooperative work mainly based on enthusiasm," said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh.

Similarly, Mr. Tran Doan, Director of the Danang Automobile Transport and Tourism Cooperative, pointed out that the capacity of cooperative staff is limited and their management awareness does not meet the requirements of customers and the market, so cooperatives will have difficulty competing with other economic organizations. Therefore, without policies to train and attract talents, cooperatives and collective economic organizations will not be able to keep up with the market economy as well as access integration trends and new levels of science and technology.

Actual surveys show that even cooperatives operating in areas with potential for development, the highest salary for university-educated managers usually ranges from 6 to 10 million VND/month. Meanwhile, businesses in the same field are willing to pay double or even triple for equivalent positions.

This significant difference has created an attraction for young people with capacity to join and contribute. Moreover, a large part of the community, especially the youth, still has prejudices about cooperatives as an old economic model, lacking dynamism and not having many opportunities for development.

According to experts, the lack of high-quality human resources is creating negative consequences for the sustainable development of cooperatives. The ability to compete in terms of product quality, service, productivity and innovation is limited. Difficulties in applying science and technology and improving the ability to adapt to the fluctuating market are also becoming major challenges, directly affecting the reputation and brand of cooperatives in the market.

Faced with this situation, Mr. Dinh Hong Thai - Vice President of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance Dinh Hong Thai said that in an increasingly competitive environment, relying solely on passion will be a major obstacle that makes it difficult for cooperatives to recruit talent. Therefore, it is extremely necessary for cooperatives to proactively review and adjust salaries, bonuses, allowances and other welfare regimes to ensure competitiveness compared to businesses in the region and industry.

According to Mr. Dinh Hong Thai, through studying domestic and international models and experiences (Japan, Netherlands), it can be seen that these countries have comprehensive and clear policy systems that create conditions to attract high-quality human resources, young human resources to participate and stay with cooperatives for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to develop orientations and solutions to improve the operational efficiency of cooperatives through improving the quality of human resources.

In addition, cooperatives need to create the best conditions for members to contribute and develop, build training cooperation strategies, select and reward talents right from when they have not yet graduated, and then other attractive policies to retain members who contribute their talents to the cooperative for a long time. At the same time, raise awareness of the community, especially the younger generation, about the role and development potential of cooperatives through member engagement programs and media. Thereby, promote the image of cooperatives, emphasize benefits such as competitive income, stable working environment, training opportunities and career development, etc.

“This is also an important foundation for the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance system to continue to innovate, improve efficiency and help cooperatives attract talent, contributing increasingly to the socio-economic development of the country,” Mr. Dinh Hong Thai affirmed.

From experience in attracting high-quality human resources, Mr. Le Van Viet - Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Xuyen Viet Cooperative (Hai Duong) said that cooperatives must have a systematic model so that talented people can see the professionalism and development potential, bringing value when they decide to join the cooperative.

Currently, 80% of the human resources at Xuyen Viet Cooperative are under 35 years old, with college, university, master's and doctoral degrees. In addition, the cooperative also has specific criteria such as linking with schools to attract interns. Therefore, when there are young people with good qualifications, the cooperative commits to paying tuition fees and then accepting them to work, paying salaries (paying in advance and then paying again if they stick with it). With that commitment, young people with knowledge are very excited to work, contribute and join the cooperative. From these preferential policies, the cooperative has attracted many talented people working from large enterprises and corporations to return to work. However, to do this, the cooperative needs to be transparent about finances and production and business activities.

According to Mr. Hoang Van Tham, Director of Chuc Son Cooperative (Hanoi), all members of Chuc Son Cooperative are covered by insurance, and members with high capacity and qualifications will be covered by insurance according to their actual salary. At the same time, the cooperative union builds a cultural institution with clear regulations on the regime and standards for members when using equipment and motorbikes for work.

To improve the effectiveness of training and fostering for members and employees in cooperatives and collective economic organizations, Mr. Pham Minh Son, Deputy Head of the Inspection Board (Vietnam Cooperative Alliance) pointed out a bright spot in the State's support policy, which is that localities have regulations to support salaries and bonuses for people with university and college degrees working in cooperatives at a minimum level of 1.5 times higher than the Government's regulations. This is an important resource that cooperatives need to proactively grasp and utilize to attract talent.

"Because when cooperatives have sufficient financial capacity and favorable conditions to develop services that meet market needs and operate effectively, they will be able to pay competitive salaries and create an attractive working environment. This contributes to solving the problem of high-quality human resources, creating a premise for sustainable development," Mr. Pham Minh Son emphasized.

According to News and People Newspaper
https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/giai-phap-hut-nguon-nhan-luc-cao-cho-hop-tac-xa-20250512194937218.htm

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/giai-phap-hut-nguon-nhan-luc-cao-cho-hop-tac-xa-213434.html