Workers with foreign languages are a big advantage
On August 25, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Dinh Van Phong - Head of Enterprise and Labor Department, Management Board of Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone - said that the growth rate of businesses in Nghe An in recent years has been very fast, leading to a large demand for human resources. Businesses are currently lacking both general labor and technically skilled labor.
According to Mr. Phong, students of vocational schools and universities in the area have just graduated and have been sought after and recruited by many businesses. However, this human resource is also being "shared" when one part goes to work in other provinces, and another part chooses to work abroad.
Another bottleneck is foreign languages. Many FDI enterprises in Nghe An have a need to recruit people who know Chinese, while the ability to train and supply this labor force in the area has not met the requirements.
Workers who are both skilled and know Chinese have a great advantage when recruited, have many opportunities for promotion and higher income levels" - Mr. Phong said.
In 2025, businesses in the Southeast Economic Zone and industrial parks created jobs for 64,337 people, an increase of nearly 17,000 people compared to the previous year. In 2026 alone, businesses expect to recruit an additional 32,000 workers.
Not only Nghe An, the demand for human resources is increasing sharply throughout the North Central region.
In Ha Tinh, the Human Resource Development Project for the period 2026-2030 forecasts that economic zones and industrial parks need about 73,000 workers, focusing on mechanics, electronics, automotive technology, metallurgy, industrial construction, logistics and services. In May and June 2026 alone, businesses in the area registered recruitment needs of more than 33,000 people.
Thanh Hoa also sets a target for the 2026-2030 period to newly train, re-train and improve skills for more than 426,000 workers. The locality determines to increase intermediate and college training, re-train the labor force and link vocational programs with the actual needs of businesses.
Accelerate technical expertise training
Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh currently have a fairly large human resource training network, with a total of about 153 institutions and units registered or participating in vocational education activities. In which, Nghe An has 67 institutions, including 9 colleges, 14 intermediate schools, 22 vocational education centers and 22 other institutions; and 6 universities operating in the area.
Thanh Hoa has 65 vocational education units, including 11 colleges, 15 intermediate schools, 7 vocational education centers and 32 other businesses and institutions. Ha Tinh has 21 vocational education institutions, with 798 teachers, licensed to train 109 professions and a scale of nearly 25,000 targets per year, besides Ha Tinh University.
According to Dr. Ngo Sy Thanh Tung - Rector of Nghe An College of Economics and Technology No. 1, businesses need many mechanical, electrical, automation, CNC, equipment operation, quality management, logistics and foreign language workers.
Vocational schools must promote the training of skilled workers. Businesses also need to directly participate in the training process, from building programs, providing equipment, receiving internships to ordering human resources. Training must aim for the goal that graduates can work immediately" - Dr. Ngo Sy Thanh Tung shared.
