Businesses crave unskilled labor
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Han (27 years old, residing in O Mon district, Can Tho city) shared that she once quit her job at a garment company after nearly 3 years of attachment due to unstable income and frequent overtime. "I am looking for an office job or sales job with a more stable time, even if the salary is a little lower, it's okay, so I can take care of my young child" - Ms. Han said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuc (32 years old, residing in Thot Not ward, Can Tho city) is currently working as a technical worker at a mechanical company with an income of about 14 million VND/month. Attached to welding and operating CNC machines for more than 10 years, Mr. Phuc said that skilled workers are not too difficult to find jobs, even many businesses actively contact recruitment. However, he prioritizes a stable working environment, full insurance and clear salary increases instead of just choosing a place that pays high salaries in the short term.
Meanwhile, many businesses in Can Tho are in need of recruiting a large number of unskilled workers. The Recruitment and Training Department of TKG Taekwang Can Tho Co., Ltd. informed that the business plans to recruit about 2,000 unskilled workers in the second quarter of 2026 to serve production expansion, in May alone, about 800 workers are needed for the stages of pressing the base, glue, spraying paint...
Although demand is increasing, this business also recognizes that currently, the recruitment of general labor, especially young labor, is facing many major challenges from both supply. The source of young labor in the locality is increasingly scarce. The trend of geographical relocation makes most young people choose to go to big cities to study and start a career, causing a shortage of local human resources.
Similarly, Co Chien Seafood Joint Stock Company currently needs to recruit about 300 more unskilled workers for the export shrimp processing workshop. According to Mr. Nguyen Khoa Nhan - Deputy Director of the Company, the enterprise offers quite flexible recruitment conditions but still faces difficulties in attracting long-term workers.
Not only in the manufacturing sector, service and tourism businesses are also increasing the demand for seasonal workers during peak seasons. According to Ms. Huynh Thi Bich Tuyen - Director of Mekong Silt Ecolodge, the unit regularly recruits more workers for restaurant, kitchen, reception and room positions to serve tourists.
Need to change the way young workers are attracted
Explaining some of the main reasons leading to the gap between labor supply and demand, the Can Tho Employment Service Center informed: The labor shift between the formal and informal sectors, the "job craving" of workers themselves, especially young workers. A part of job seekers today have high demands for salaries, benefits and working environment. This pickiness will lead to job losses, missed job opportunities for workers and create an intractable personnel problem for businesses as well as cause difficulties for the Center's job creation work.
Mr. Le Quang Trung - former Deputy Director of the Department of Employment (Ministry of Home Affairs) - said that it is necessary to change the mindset of considering unskilled labor as an abundant and cheap human resource. According to him, young workers today not only look for jobs to earn income but also care about the working environment, skills development opportunities and long-term stability.
Along with perfecting policies and laws, it is necessary to build a program to develop high-quality young workers in each stage; have appropriate mechanisms to attract, treat, and honor, and a set of tools to assess capacity and strengths to orient training and effective employment.
