Tens of thousands of people have over the years completed a variety of vocational training courses in the Mekong Delta, with many more joining in each year, however, only a few of these find employment after training.
In recent years, agriculture has become increasingly mechanized, with fewer requirements for manual workers in the Mekong Delta, several of who are now redundant.
According to statistics of local departments of labor, invalids and social affairs, unemployment rate among women and youth is rather high, leading to their seeking vocational training as a necessity.
Nguyen Thi Bich Phuong, chairwoman of Dong Thang Women’s Association in Dong Thang Commune in Co Do District of Can Tho City, said they have opened a lot of vocational training courses in rural areas to help the unemployed.
However most trainees move out to Ho Chi Minh City and other parts of the southeastern region to find work, she added.
Local woman Duong Thi Manh said her five-member family has only 1,000 square meters under rice cultivation. In previous years, they harvested rice for other people to earn VND200,000 per head per day. But now, harvesting machines have rendered them unemployed.
The free vocational training policy made her very happy, when she heard of it, and in 2006 she registered to learn carpet weaving. But after completion, she was unable to find a unit that would employ her.
Manh then began to weave carpets by herself for sale in the local markets at VND20,000 each, but soon gave up as there was no one who showed an interest in purchasing her product.
After finishing two courses in carpet weaving and making hyacinth products, Nguyen Thi Thuy was supplied with material from some cooperatives in Hau Giang Province to weave items for export.
Despite a meager income of VND10,000-20,000 for one or two pieces a day, Thuy still worked hoping for a long-term job. However, this too frizzled out when cooperatives failed to find buyers.
Thuy then had no choice but to move to HCMC to work as a mason’s assistant to bring up her two children.
The Women’s Association in Phu Quoi Commune in Long Ho District of Vinh Long Province provides two vocational training courses a year. However, the trainees have found it very difficult to find jobs.
Hau Giang Province has trained more than 19,000 workers over the last three years. In 2013, the province trained 8,000, Can Tho City 5,700, and Vinh Long Province 17,000, while other provinces also train thousands annually.
Tran Thanh Lap, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee in Hau Giang Province, said that vocational training has not taken into account the regional socio-economic situation and some provinces have just focused on quantity not quality or actual demand.
Lap said that his province will ask localities to provide vocational training as per demand of learners and of businesses.
Sharing this view, Tran Thi Thai, deputy chairwoman of the People’s Committee in Dong Thap Province, said that vocational training has not synchronized with real demand.
The province has called for a careful study of the situation and better coordination with vocational training schools and centers to target the right careers and prevent redundancy.
Local agriculture and rural development departments say that at present, vocational centers are operating under several departments and organizations, which provide different training programs. They should join hands to coordinate and provide practical vocational training that can be put to good use.
