Retraining is no longer an option
Mr. Nguyen Doan Duc - Director of Thang Long Mechanical Technology Company (Chuong My ward, Hanoi) said that at his own company, many labor skills that were once sufficient for use a few years ago are now outdated. To avoid re-recruiting people and meeting production needs, businesses are forced to re-organize training to keep workers up with new requirements, from operating modern machinery, using management software to digital skills and streamlined working processes.
That is with the old personnel group, with the new personnel, businesses recruit people but still have to retrain them almost from the beginning, causing personnel costs to increase significantly, especially the group that directly operates the machine and controls the mold," Mr. Duc said.
Also according to Mr. Duc, most of the retraining costs are currently paid by businesses. In addition to the cost of hiring lecturers and textbooks, there are also opportunity costs when workers temporarily reduce productivity during their studies. What Mr. Duc is most concerned about is that after being trained, a part of workers will quit their jobs or move to other businesses with higher salaries.
We fall into a vicious circle: if we don't train, the labor force will not meet the requirements, and after training, we will worry about "losing people". If we are not clearly bound in the labor contract, we are forced to choose a measured training solution, only focusing on minimal skills," Mr. Duc admitted.
On the worker's side, training brings clear benefits to them such as improving skills, increasing job placement opportunities, improving income and competitiveness in the labor market. For young workers, this is also a "springboard" for promotion or moving to a better job.
However, many workers also face pressure when participating in retraining. They have to study overtime, adapt to new knowledge, and even face the risk of being fired if they cannot keep up. In some cases, workers are bound by commitments to work for a long time after training, limiting their right to job choice.
Mr. Tran Anh The - a quality control employee at a supporting industry company in An Khanh commune (Hanoi) said that before being sent to study by the company, he had to commit to sticking for at least 2 years after training. "I accept this condition but I understand myself that I will lose many opportunities to increase income and jobs with new opportunities," Mr. The said.
Need a mechanism to share costs and benefits
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, said that in the long term, labor retraining not only benefits businesses or individual workers, but also the entire economy. High-quality human resources help improve productivity, increase national competitiveness and reduce the risk of structural unemployment. However, when common interests are not "divided equally", conflicts of interest easily arise. Businesses want to retain people after training, workers want to freely choose a better workplace. If there is a lack of harmonious mechanisms, retraining can become a burden instead of a driving force for development.
To solve the retraining problem, according to Ms. Huong, a clearer cost and benefit sharing mechanism is needed. Businesses can invest in training, in return, employees commit to working for a reasonable period of time. If the contract is terminated before the deadline, the parties can agree to reimburse part of the training costs according to legal regulations.
At the same time, the State needs to play a supporting role through vocational training programs and retraining for workers affected by economic restructuring. The effective use of the unemployment insurance fund for retraining and skills improvement is also a direction that needs to be promoted.
One reason why businesses have to re-train a lot is that the initial training program is not close to reality. The lack of connection between training institutions and businesses makes graduates lack practical skills, forcing businesses to "compensate for training". Therefore, strengthening the link between schools and businesses, updating training programs according to market demand will help reduce retraining pressure and save costs for the whole society," Ms. Lan Huong said.
