According to the report on the status and trends of the implementation of unemployment insurance policies associated with job creation work issued by the Hanoi Employment Service Center, in the period of 2019-2024, in complete contrast to the bright spots in labor relations, vocational training support activities in the capital are the "lowlands".
Vocational training support is a policy to implement the main goal, helping workers improve their skills, adapt to new requirements of the market and seek sustainable jobs. However, in reality, this activity has not been effectively implemented and has not attracted a large number of workers to participate.
According to the Hanoi Employment Service Center, data shows that the number of people receiving vocational training support in the capital is very low, from 778 - 1,590 people/year. When we put this number next to tens of thousands of people receiving unemployment benefits each year, the imbalance becomes even more obvious.
The rate of unemployed workers participating in vocational training is very modest, the highest also reaching only 2.22% in 2022 and has even fallen to a bottom of 0.92% in 2023 - the year with a record high number of unemployed people. "This is a big paradox, showing that the policy has not responded promptly and effectively to market confidence. Instead of being promoted when most necessary, this activity is being narrowed, showing serious problems in the implementation mechanism, from consulting and orientation to the attractiveness of training programs, said the Hanoi Employment Service Center.
In 2021, the rate of vocational learners/person receiving unemployment benefits reached 1.69%, in 2024 it was 1.49%; the rate of vocational training expenditure/unemployment benefits, in 2021 it was 0.21%, in 2024 it was 0.19%.
This imbalance is also reflected deeply in the financial allocation structure. The proportion of vocational training spending compared to the total unemployment benefit payment cost is insignificant, ranging from 0.14% to 0.37%. This shows that, in essence, the unemployment insurance policy is still operating as a one-sided financial payment machine, instead of a system of investors in the regeneration and improvement of the quality of human resources.
With a huge outstanding budget of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, spending only a small part of the budget on training is a huge waste of opportunity. It shows that the policy is moving towards solving the problem of temporary financial support instead of the root problem of unemployment (improving competitiveness for workers). Limited work in vocational training support is the biggest bottleneck, reducing the significance and long-term impact of the entire unemployment insurance policy, requiring breakthrough and decisive reforms in the coming time.
