During his working visit to Europe, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang, together with the Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria, Vu Le Thai Hoang, co-chaired this Forum.
The forum was attended by 170 delegates in person and 150 delegates online, including representatives from the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education, the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Training , and more than 30 Vietnamese companies and vocational schools. Representing Austria were Ms. Margit Kreuzhuber, Deputy Director General for Labor at the Austrian Business and Labor Promotion Agency (ABA); Ms. Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, Minister of Lower Austria for Social and Educational Affairs; and Mr. Peter Molnar, Mayor of Krems.
The forum consisted of three sessions, providing updates on the policy and legal environment regarding labor in both countries, and opportunities and challenges for cooperation in the fields of healthcare and nursing, tourism and hotel and restaurant management, information technology, and other industries.
In his opening remarks at the Forum, Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang highly appreciated the interest and active participation of numerous representatives from governments, associations, businesses, and training institutions of both countries, thereby demonstrating the potential and need to open up the skilled labor market and cooperate in vocational training between Vietnam and Austria.
Minister Teschl-Hofmeister assessed the Forum as an important and timely initiative, reflecting the growing interest in the potential and strengths of labor cooperation and vocational training between the two countries, with IMC-Krems University as a symbol, having awarded full scholarships to 150 Vietnamese nursing students, along with efforts to expand vocational training cooperation with partners in Vietnam.
In his opening remarks at the Forum, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang emphasized that Vietnam is currently in a period of "golden demographic structure" with 68% of its population in the working age group and a steady annual growth of 1 million people. With a comprehensive international integration orientation, Vietnam identifies sending workers abroad as not only a socio-economic solution but also an important "human resource diplomacy" channel, helping to improve the skills and industrial work ethic of its workforce. Currently, Vietnam has over 860,000 workers abroad in more than 40 different markets, working in sectors ranging from high technology and information technology to nursing and agriculture. Austria needs to supplement its high-quality workforce to compensate for shortages due to its aging population, while Vietnam has a young, intelligent, hardworking, and eager-to-learn workforce; therefore, there is significant mutual support between the two economies.
Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang expressed his belief that the Vietnamese labor community in Austria will play a role as a bridge for cultural exchange, deepening and strengthening the comprehensive partnership between the two sides.
In an atmosphere of cooperation and openness, the Deputy Minister suggested that delegates at the Forum frankly exchange views, identify bottlenecks, and propose specific solutions to overcome them so that the activity of sending Vietnamese workers to Austria becomes more substantive, effective, and practical in the future.
Also at the Forum, Mr. Vu Truong Giang – Acting Director of the Department of Overseas Labor Management (Ministry of Interior) – stated that although the two countries have not yet signed an official agreement, there have been positive signs with 55 Vietnamese workers currently working in Austria through three pilot enterprises. The workers have stable incomes (approximately 2,000 euros/month) and are guaranteed good welfare benefits. Based on this, Mr. Vu Truong Giang proposed that the two sides soon negotiate and sign a labor cooperation agreement to create a legal framework in the near future.
Within the framework of the Forum and its side activities, Austrian partners proactively contacted, exchanged information, and asked numerous questions and made proposals to the Vietnamese Ministry of Interior delegation regarding the need for human resource training in sectors where Austria has a demand, such as information technology, nursing and healthcare, home care services, green farming, seasonal agriculture, and restaurant and hotel management and service.
In discussions with potential partners in Austria, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang affirmed that the Forum is an opportunity for the two countries to enhance understanding of Vietnam's human resource needs and Austria's strengths in vocational training for Vietnam, opening up avenues for cooperation in industries requiring high skills, expertise, and modern industrial practices. Both sides will assign a focal point to continue researching, exchanging information, and implementing the procedures according to regulations, reporting to competent authorities for consideration, and moving towards the early signing of a bilateral labor cooperation agreement. This will create a formal and sustainable legal framework, paving the way for many concrete cooperation prospects, thereby contributing to realizing the goal of making labor cooperation a crucial pillar in the Vietnam-Austria partnership.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/viet-nam-ao-khai-mo-co-hoi-cho-nguon-nhan-luc-chat-luong-cao-20251211072916184.htm
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