Career trends in Ho Chi Minh City in the next 5 years: Which industries will rise, which will fall behind?

In the next 5 years, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to need 800,000 to more than 1 million new workers. Experts predict that career trends will have a clear shift.

Ho Chi Minh City needs more than 1 million new workers

According to Ms. Luong Thi Toi , Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs, after the merger of administrative units, the labor market in Ho Chi Minh City is vibrant and diverse. With the strategic direction from the Government , the employment trend in the coming time will increase sharply in industries associated with technological transformation such as artificial intelligence ( AI), data, automation, renewable energy, logistics and financial management . These are areas that will create many new values, while also leading to the need for high-quality human resources. However, this also poses a big challenge for labor-intensive industries that focus mostly on unskilled workers and have not been recognized professionally during the training process.

In the period 2025 - 2030, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to need 800,000 to more than 1 million new workers , of which 70% of the demand is concentrated in the service sector - high-tech industry. Essential sectors such as agriculture , logistics, construction, technology, health care or education are forecast to grow strongly. In contrast, repetitive jobs that require less expertise will tend to decline.

Entering 2026, the first year the city operates under the "super urban" structure after the merger, the labor market will face two parallel movements: strong growth in the number of jobs but at the same time increasing pressure on the quality of human resources . According to Ms. Toi, this will be the decisive moment for businesses and training institutions to adjust their strategies and orient future human resources in accordance with the new development scale of Ho Chi Minh City.

Employment trends in the coming time will increase sharply in industries associated with technological transformation.

PHOTO: YEN THI

Career transition trends

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Education Association, a human resource forecasting expert, said that the traditional labor base will continue to exist but will have many clear changes under the impact of digital technology and the digital transformation process.

According to Mr. Tuan, digital technology is changing the labor structure in most industries. This requires students to clearly identify their personal strengths to choose the right major. "A good person today is not someone who knows everything, but someone who knows what he is good at," Mr. Tuan emphasized.

The labor market develops according to the new rules of a multi-sector market economy, regional and international integration, with many fluctuations, "supply - demand" gap, and a large number of workers with unstable jobs, job loss, and job re-arrangement.

The most obvious trend is the shift in occupational structure from simple labor group to technical and professional occupation group. Simple human resources will become weaker, while recruitment needs focus mainly on the workforce with technological skills, soft skills and the ability to adapt quickly. Current occupational competition is not only based on degrees or intelligence, but more importantly on the quality of skills, the ability to work practically and effectively in an ever-changing environment.

Mr. Tuan said that the demand for trained human resources currently accounts for an average of more than 95%. Of which, university-level human resources account for about 25%, college-level 23%, intermediate-level 32% and primary-level 20%. This data reflects a clear trend: the current market strongly prioritizes practical skills and real professional capacity.

To succeed in a competitive environment, workers, especially students, need to clearly define their learning direction, understand their interests and abilities, and constantly strive to improve. Continuous learning, updating technological knowledge and cultivating new skills will determine the adaptability of each individual in the labor value chain. This is not only a market requirement but also an inevitable trend of the high-tech era, where career value is built on lifelong learning.

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan listed 10 groups of developing industries that attract demand for specialized human resources:

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xu-huong-nghe-nghiep-tphcm-trong-5-nam-toi-nganh-nao-len-ngoi-nghe-nao-tut-hau-185251114094959503.htm