Vietnam expects to create some 27,000 jobs in joining CPTPP

This was the message during the conference held on November 26^th on “Labor Market Policy and Up-skilling Needs in Context of International Integration” jointly held by the Ministry of Labor, War-Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education, and Research, and the International Labor Organisation (ILO).

Speaking at the conference, MOLISA Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep said that creating jobs and improving workers’ skills during international integration are important goals for countries, especially for developing ones that have a large number of labourers like Vietnam. “Together with the development of the market economy, labour market policies have been gradually completed,” he said.

According to Deputy Minister Diep, over the past years, more people have joined the labour force, with the proportion of agricultural labourers among the total national workforce estimated at around 40%, and the percentage of people of working age remaining high at 76% of the local population. The quality of jobs, workers’ income and working conditions have been improved, while the gap between male and female payment has been narrowed. There is also an increase in the number of guest workers. Meanwhile, Vietnam has also issued laws on labour, social insurance, work safety and employment.

Noting that unqualified workers in the agricultural sector and the significant number of people engaged in unskilled work are some of the shortcomings of the labour market, Mr. Diep confirmed that as Vietnam is joining new general free trade agreements in the context of the 4^th industrial revolution, labour market policies should be adjusted.

Experts at the conference agreed that joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) can help increase the number of jobs by 17,000-27,000 each year for Vietnamese workers from 2020. It also helps report more and more investment into Vietnam, thus intensifying national competitiveness and improving human resources quality./.