Caring for workers must be viewed from a longer-term perspective
The opinion of General Secretary and President To Lam is not only a message about the responsibility to care for the working class, but also sets out a new approach in developing Vietnamese workers in the period of industrialization, modernization and deep integration.
The new point in this message is that caring for workers must be viewed from a longer-term perspective. It is not only to help workers overcome a difficult period, but also to create conditions for them to develop their abilities, improve their position and have the opportunity to build a better future for themselves, their families and future generations.
First of all, "each worker must have a lifelong learning opportunity" is a very fundamental requirement. In the context of science and technology, automation, artificial intelligence and digital transformation are strongly changing the labor market, today's skills may quickly become outdated in the next few years. If workers are not trained, retrained, and improve their skills, they will easily fall behind right in the factory they are working at.
Lifelong learning for workers should not be understood as grand slogans, but must be concretized by short-term vocational training classes, digital skills training programs, foreign languages, labor discipline, industrial style, legal knowledge, personal finance and skills to adapt to new technologies. A worker with better skills will have the opportunity to receive a higher salary. A worker who understands the law will know how to protect his legitimate rights. A worker with digital skills will be more proactive in the modern production environment. Especially in high-tech industries, where knowledge determines productivity, training becomes even more of a "key" to opening up the future.
To do that, businesses, the State and trade union organizations need to participate together. Businesses cannot only consider workers as human resources used in the short term, but need to consider training workers as an investment in productivity, quality and competitiveness. The State needs to have policies to support training and encourage lifelong learning in the labor force. Trade unions need to become a bridge for workers to access real learning opportunities, suitable for their working time and living conditions.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Pham Thi Hong Yen - Chairwoman of the grassroots trade union of Intel Products Vietnam Company - said that in the digital age and a volatile environment, workers' learning is no longer an option, but an inevitable path. If previously, a university degree was a source of pride, now it is only the initial foundation. More importantly, lifelong learning - a journey to help workers and union members improve their capacity, seize opportunities for promotion and gradually realize their own aspirations. Especially in high-tech industries, where knowledge determines productivity, training becomes even more a "key" to open the future.
From the worker's side, Mr. Nguyen Van Bang - Head of the water meter component maintenance and assembly team of Thanh Hoa Water Supply Joint Stock Company - said: "20 years ago, in my twenties, when I started working as a worker at Thanh Hoa Water Supply Joint Stock Company, I set a goal:'Doing my best, because labor is glory'. I try to learn every day, learn from colleagues, from documents, newspapers, from technology devices such as phones, computers... Only then can I help myself supplement knowledge, experience and find scientific working methods that bring high efficiency.
From learning, Mr. Bang has had initiatives that have profited the company billions of VND such as the initiative "Creating a system to disassemble water meters by compressed air", helping to reduce labor, shorten working hours and save more than 550 million VND/year. Or the initiative "Designing and manufacturing a system of equipment to disassemble water meter instrument clusters", helping to save nearly 600 million VND/year for businesses.
The story of Mr. Nguyen Van Bang is typical of a new generation of workers, pioneering lifelong learning to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to sacrifice for the common good, to become useful people for society.
Trade union organization plays an important role
On October 19, 2022, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1268/QD-TTg approving the Program "Promoting lifelong learning activities among workers in enterprises to 2030".
Immediately after that, the VGCL issued a plan to implement this program with the goal: striving to achieve 90% of workers at enterprises to be propagated, disseminated, studied, and thoroughly grasped of the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws related to workers, associated with theoretical contents on the functions and tasks of the working class and the Vietnam Trade Union organization by 2030.
By 2030, 75% of workers at enterprises will participate in learning to improve their skills and professional skills. By 2030, 75% of workers at enterprises will participate in learning life skills education content. By 2030, 65% of workers at enterprises will be familiarized with information technology and digital technology.
Notably, the program "1 million initiatives - efforts to overcome difficulties, creativity, determination to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic" organized by the VGCL must be mentioned. Since its launch, the program has reached the milestone of 1 million initiatives - completing the planned target nearly 11 months ahead of schedule. To date, the whole country has sent more than 2 million initiatives to participate in the program; many initiatives have high profit value, over 100 billion VND/year; the total profit value of the initiative is estimated at more than 33,000 billion VND.
In September 2024, the VGCL and the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education organized the signing of a Coordination Program and one of the coordination contents is to encourage the organization of lifelong learning activities. The coordination program on promoting lifelong learning activities, encouraging learning, encouraging talents, building a learning society among workers and laborers in the period 2024 - 2030 between the two agencies clearly states 5 contents, including: strengthening information and propaganda on the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws on encouraging learning, encouraging talents, building a lifelong learning society to raise awareness and unify actions in trade unions and association associations at all levels, trade union members, officials, and members.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Phuc Lam - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics: "The Trade Union organization needs to continue to promote solutions such as: propaganda, dissemination, raising awareness about lifelong learning, contributing to building a learning society. In which, it is emphasized that it is necessary to organize the compilation of materials on lifelong learning for workers; training on propaganda skills, mobilizing workers and employers to participate in lifelong learning activities for trade union officials, especially grassroots trade union officials".
Workers expect that in the coming time, the Trade Union organization and the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education will continue to have cooperation to promote the lifelong learning process of workers.
