Relevant ministries and agencies have developed a special enrollment mechanism to train human resources for Vung Ang Economic Zone (Ha Tinh), but in 2012 only 14 students were recruited out of a total target of 1,200.
At the preliminary review conference on human resource training for Vung Ang Economic Zone (Ha Tinh Province) on July 11, Mr. Nguyen Thien, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, said that by the end of June, 226 enterprises had been granted investment certificates and business registration certificates. These included 77 investment projects with registered capital of USD 16 billion, and 26 projects had already come into operation.
Currently, nearly 12,500 workers are working at enterprises, investors, and contractors in Vung Ang Economic Zone, including nearly 2,400 foreign workers.
Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant. Photo: Ha Tinh Province website
According to a report by Ha Tinh Province, the basic salary paid by enterprises in the economic zone is around more than VND 4.5 million per month. “Most college and university graduates earn VND 7–8 million,” said Mr. Nguyen Thien, Vice Chairman of Ha Tinh Province.
From 2013 to 2015, the total demand for human resources in Vung Ang Economic Zone is expected to reach nearly 68,000 workers. Technical workers account for 54%. In 2013 alone, according to Ha Tinh Province, enterprises and contractors there needed around 18,000 workers.
From 2009 to 2013, the central and provincial budgets allocated around VND 750 billion for human resource training for Vung Ang Economic Zone. Despite large demand and allocated funding, labor training for this economic zone has still faced many difficulties.
The Vice Chairman of Ha Tinh Province said that in 2012, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with the locality to determine a special enrollment mechanism for 1,200 targets for Vung Ang Economic Zone. Ha Tinh University was assigned as the enrollment focal point. However, only 14 students were recruited.
In 2013, the locality was again assigned 1,200 enrollment targets for university-level training for Vung Ang Economic Zone through admission consideration for candidates with permanent residence in Ha Tinh, Nghe An, and Quang Binh. Eligible candidates must achieve results equal to or higher than the minimum admission score in this year’s university entrance examination.
“Hopefully this year, more students will register for this program,” Mr. Thien emphasized.
At the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan also noted that calculating human resource demand must include an estimate of resignations in order to be more proactive in training. “For example, in a recent working session, Samsung Vietnam said that each year it recruits a large number of workers and is willing to pay high salaries and provide good meals, but the resignation rate still reaches up to 50%,” the Deputy Prime Minister cited.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the reason for the high resignation rate at Samsung Vietnam is that workers cannot obtain permanent household registration, making it difficult for their children to attend school, or some workers, after getting married, still do not have housing. Learning from this case, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Ha Tinh must develop social infrastructure, hospitals, schools, etc. in Vung Ang to retain workers.
The total area for worker housing in this zone has been approved and planned at more than 1,300 hectares. However, so far, only 6 hectares have been built, providing accommodation for more than 1,800 workers.
Vung Ang Economic Zone was established in 2006 with a total area of nearly 23,000 hectares, covering 9 communes in the southern part of Ky Anh District, Ha Tinh Province.
Some typical projects here include the Son Duong Steel and Port Complex of Formosa Group - Taiwan, with total investment of nearly USD 8 billion; the Ho Tau Voi tourism service development project of USD 70 million; Vung Ang I Thermal Power Plant of USD 1.2 billion; and the steelmaking plant of Ha Tinh Iron and Steel Joint Stock Company of USD 1 billion.