Removing the labor 'bottleneck' to break through - Part 2: Difficulty retaining workers outside the city

Hai Phong's businesses not only lack highly skilled human resources but also face many challenges in retaining the workforce outside the city.

Hai Phong is lacking a large number of skilled workers in a number of fields such as logistics, information technology, and electricity. In the photo: Workers at 4P Electronics Joint Stock Company (Trang Due Industrial Park).

Trained labor is still low

In 2024, Hai Phong city (old) will have a population of 2.124 million people, of which the working-age group will be more than 1 million (accounting for 48.5%). Hai Duong province (old) will have a population of about 2.15 million people, of which the labor force will be about 1 million people.

After the merger, Hai Phong city is in the “golden period” of labor resources with about more than 2 million people. Although the labor force is abundant, the shortage still occurs, especially of highly skilled labor, including human resources in the fields of logistics, information technology, science and technology, electricity...

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyet, Permanent Vice President of the City Labor Federation, said the main reason comes from the imbalance between labor supply and demand. Enterprises currently need technical workers with skills and professional working style. Meanwhile, a part of the local labor force has not been properly trained, lacks vocational skills, labor discipline and the ability to adapt to modern technology is still limited. A part of the labor force in the area still does not have stable jobs, mainly freelance workers, seasonal workers or workers who have changed jobs from the agricultural sector.

Although the overall labor quality of Hai Phong city has increased over the years, by the second quarter of 2025, the rate of trained workers with certificates of 3 months or more reached 39.45%. However, this figure is still lower than that of provinces and cities in the region such as Quang Ninh at 48%, Hanoi at 52%.

Many workers, although having degrees, lack practical experience, teamwork skills, limited foreign languages, and work attitudes that do not meet integration requirements, especially when Hai Phong is welcoming many large domestic and foreign enterprises to do business.

There is also a situation where many young workers in Hai Phong “refuse” to work as factory workers. Ms. Tran Thi Thanh, a human resource recruitment officer at Jasan Vietnam Co., Ltd., VSIP Industrial Park, said that the company currently has more than 3,000 employees working in the field of high-end sock production. 50% of the company’s employees are local, the rest are workers from other provinces. In recent years, the number of local workers has been decreasing.

“Many young people choose to work in services, small businesses or freelance instead of working in factories because they do not like being restricted by working hours. The income is stable but not really attractive, so it has not attracted young workers,” said Ms. Thanh.

Another worrying fact is the increasing number of “self-employed” workers, that is, workers who do not look for jobs, mainly those over 35 years old. Although this group of workers is having difficulty finding jobs, they are outside the system of factories and enterprises in industrial parks and economic zones.

The job fair on the morning of October 20 organized by the City Employment Service Center had a large number of workers participating, mainly those over 35 years old. However, there were not many people who really needed jobs, mainly coming to apply for unemployment benefits.

Mr. Pham Thanh Binh (40 years old) in Hung Dao ward said he has a bachelor's degree in accounting but did not pursue the profession but instead became a market employee for sanitary and kitchen equipment. In 3 years, he "jumped jobs" to 4 companies with a salary of about 8 million VND/month and was unemployed for more than half a year. "I did not apply to work as a worker in industrial parks because I had a full education, and now I cannot bear to work as a worker," said Mr. Binh.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Head of the Department of Consulting, Job Introduction and Vocational Training, City Employment Service Center, said that many businesses have expanded the recruitment age to 45 - 55 years old for women, but supply and demand still do not meet because workers prioritize administrative work and do not want to work shifts. More than 90% of the recruitment positions are for unskilled labor, so many people with degrees consider themselves "unsuitable".

Looking to outside labor sources

Although they are the “lifesavers” for businesses, maintaining the operation of many production lines, workers from other localities are a group that is constantly changing. In the photo: Businesses participating in the job fair to recruit workers.

Currently, 66.7% of workers in industrial parks and economic zones in Hai Phong are locals, the rest come from other provinces and cities.

Although they are the force that helps businesses maintain the operation of many production lines, workers from other localities are a group that is constantly changing.

The reason is that most workers outside the city have to rent houses, the cost of living is high, and the cultural and spiritual life is lacking, leading to the situation of "coming and going". Many people only work for 3-6 months and then move to another company, province or city with a better income or return to their hometown to find a job near home.

Having worked for many years in Dai An Industrial Park, Ms. Tong Thi Huyen from Son La province, who is working as a worker at Chemilens Vietnam Joint Stock Company, said that after nearly ten years of working here, she has also been away from her family, husband and children. She can only go home 2-3 times a year. "In the near future, I will also return to my hometown to find a job to be closer to my family because here I have to rent a room, life is also unstable," Ms. Huyen said.

Regularly going to Ha Giang and the Northwestern provinces to recruit workers to make up for the labor shortage, Ms. Pham Thi Minh Hai, Deputy Head of Human Resources Department, Regina Miracle International Co., Ltd. said that in 2016 and 2017, many workers from Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, and Quang Ninh provinces came to Hai Phong to work. Up to now, this labor source is almost gone due to the huge labor demand of the provinces. The company has to go to provinces such as Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Son La, etc. to recruit workers. However, this group of workers also does not easily choose Hai Phong because the distance is too far. Meanwhile, other provinces such as Bac Ninh and Ninh Binh also have many attractive labor incentive policies.

“Retaining and attracting workers cannot rely solely on salary. They need a stable living environment, where there is affordable housing, where their children can study near their workplace, and basic health, cultural and entertainment services are guaranteed. To attract workers, the city needs to pay more attention to these issues,” said Ms. Hai.

Sharing the same view, the President of the Trade Union of Horn Vietnam Co., Ltd. (An Duong Ward) Ha Thi Hong Nhung said that 70% of the company's employees are from other localities such as Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ninh and the northern mountainous provinces. In recent years, many people have returned to their hometowns or moved to other localities with better policies to work. To retain employees from other localities, the company maintains many policies such as supporting 500,000 VND/month for phone and gas expenses, along with many other welfare policies...

Final article: Human resource policy breakthrough

HAI VAN - MINH NGUYET

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/go-nut-that-lao-dong-de-but-pha-bai-2-kho-giu-chan-lao-dong-ngoai-thanh-pho-524956.html