The construction industry lacks human resources
According to information from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), as of the second quarter of 2025, the construction industry is lacking in large human resources. The number of recruitment reports in the first half of the year increased sharply by 171.96% compared to the same period last year, making this industry one of the fields with the fastest growth rate in human resource demand today. Meanwhile, the number of applications decreased by 42.52%, causing a clear imbalance between supply and demand.
VACC said that every year, the construction industry needs to add 400,000500,000 more workers to meet market demand. By 2030, the number of workers in the industry could increase by 12 to 13 million people.
Not only is there a serious shortage of human resources, the construction industry is also facing difficulties in the quality of the workforce. Up to now, construction workers mainly include short-term workers, departing from idle labor, working seasonally, construction works, projects and most of them are unskilled and untrained, accounting for about 75% of the total industry force.
The number of workers with college, intermediate vocational qualifications and high-level workers (level 6.7) accounts for a very small proportion, respectively 11.8% and 7%, showing an imbalance in the human resource structure. While the requirements for skills and expertise are increasing, the majority of the workforce has not received proper training.
This reality is causing construction enterprises to face many difficulties in recruiting new workers to compensate for the shortage of workers at construction sites.
Unstable income, harsh environment causes workers to leave the construction site
Sharing with Lao Dong, Mr. Do Dung - Engineer of a construction company in Hanoi said: "We are seriously lacking skilled human resources, which could slow down the construction progress of the project. On average, each large project like the one we are currently building requires 300 - 500 workers, but there are less than 300 workers working at the construction site".
With more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Mr. Dung believes that there have been many positive changes in the construction industry. Currently, there are many types of supporting machines such as positioning measurement, welding, bending machines, etc. more complete, improving the difficulties in the industry. However, due to the hard characteristics, good health requirements, daily dangers, and unstable income, many people still do not choose to stick with the construction industry.
Mr. V.K - a construction worker with more than 10 years of experience expressed: "To stay in the profession, good health and patience are needed. Working hard in construction, erratic rain and sunshine but having unstable income due to unstable work and uneven work. I am a long-time and skilled worker, paid about 500-600 thousand VND/day per working day, but it is still very difficult because our income is calculated based on working days, not receiving a full month's salary like other jobs. Even in the rainy season, sometimes we can only work about 10-15 hours a month, so it is very difficult to ensure an income. Currently, many people have chosen to work in industrial parks, with stable salaries, working hard overtime, and better income than working in construction."
It can be seen that income is one of the major barriers that cause many workers to leave the construction site, leaving increasingly unfulfilled human resources gaps in the construction industry.
Enterprises pay 4-6 times more wages to retain workers
The pressure of a shortage of human resources makes businesses accept paying higher salaries to attract workers.
At the recent "Enterprise in the Digital Age: Imprints of Creativity and Global Integration" Exhibition held, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep - Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC) said: "According to the state salary unit price, each construction worker will receive 5.6 million VND/month, newly graduated engineers will receive 6 million VND/month. However, in reality, the payment level of enterprises is much higher: High-level welders can receive from 30 to 35 million VND/month, while construction site engineers are paid from 22 to 25 million VND/month".
The VACC Chairman added that the construction industry is facing many challenges. In particular, the serious shortage of workers and the increasing number of students choosing to study and stay in the industry is one of the biggest challenges in this field.
Mr. Hiep also expressed his desire to have more synchronous solutions from the State, businesses and training institutions to attract the industry. According to him, improving the training regime and salary and bonus regime are key factors to retain workers.
