Changing the face of publishing
The 4.0 revolution with the combination of modern technology and digital information, smart internet connection, 3D printing technology... has changed the face of the publishing industry. That development opens up opportunities but also puts great pressure on the human resources team to change their thinking and working methods in publishing, printing and distribution activities - especially when electronic publishing is becoming an inevitable trend.
However, publishers still have a situation where their staff do not meet the requirements of expertise and professionalism in the process of integration and digital transformation. There is still a “brain drain” when skilled human resources seek opportunities with higher incomes. The situation of publishing students graduating from school is slow to catch up and must be “hand-held and guided” still occurs.
Mr. Nguyen Nguyen - Director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution - assessed that the subjective causes leading to the above limitations are the slow institutionalization of the contents, orientations and directions of Directive 42-CT/TW "On improving the overall quality of publishing activities" in 2004, lack of attention to human resource arrangement; inadequate awareness of responsibilities of agencies...
The industry currently has 4,590 employees, most of whom are trained in social sciences and humanities, including those who are specialized in editing and publishing; more than 2,100 people have completed the editing training program and been granted practice certificates.
From 2004 to 2024, Ho Chi Minh City Book Distribution Joint Stock Company (Fahasa) recorded a revenue growth of more than 10 times, while the number of employees only increased 6 times. Fahasa's revenue in 2004 was 390 billion VND with 352 employees. By 2023, the revenue reached more than 3,900 billion VND. In 2024, Fahasa is expected to reach a revenue of 4,000 billion VND with 2,100 employees.
In reality, many publishing houses show that the main difficulty for recruiting units is having to retrain new staff to meet the requirements and processes of the job.
Opportunities and challenges
At the scientific workshop “Improving policy mechanisms, supporting publishing activities and collecting opinions on amending and supplementing the Publishing Law” held on August 19, a representative of Tien Bo Printing Company affirmed that in the current printing industry, the demand for human resources is very large, but the annual training and supplement of human resources by domestic training institutions is still limited.
According to this unit, current training facilities mainly focus on theory, while practical training that closely matches actual needs is limited due to a lack of modern equipment for students to practice; and a lack of qualified and experienced instructors to guide practice.
Not to mention, digital transformation and handling of electronic administrative procedures are also facing certain difficulties. The public service system serving the publishing industry is still unstable...
Faced with the opportunity to develop publishing and meet the needs of readers, the problem is that personnel working in the field of publishing and distribution also need to be trained and fostered in expertise and professionalism. Especially by partners in the region and around the world in the process of modernizing the publishing industry.
In addition, the quality of human resources for digital transformation in publishing activities also needs to be improved. It is necessary to develop a comprehensive strategy for digital human resource training and AI application; create financial conditions for participation in training programs at home and abroad, in which priority is given to online training on digital transformation, e-commerce, etc.
