From passive support to active support
The 2025 Employment Law takes effect from January 1, 2026, and has basically overcome the limitations and inadequacies compared to before.
Mr. Pham Xuan Vinh - Head of Unemployment Insurance Professional Affairs Department, National Center for Employment Services (Ministry of Home Affairs) said that one of the notable new points of the unemployment insurance policy is to strengthen support for training and fostering vocational skills for workers.
According to regulations, employees participating in training courses of less than 3 months are supported with tuition fees according to the collection level of vocational training institutions, up to 4.5 million VND/person/course. For courses of 3 months or more, the maximum support level is 1.5 million VND/person/month. Vocational learners are also supported with meal money of 50,000 VND/person/real study day, the maximum support period is no more than 6 months.
Notably, workers can access training programs immediately while waiting for unemployment benefits to be resolved. According to Mr. Vinh, this is a solution to help shorten unemployment time and improve job opportunities.
Mr. Vinh emphasized that the new policy reflects the mindset of considering the unemployed as a resource that needs to be reinvested. Supporting vocational training and skills development not only helps workers improve their capacity but also contributes to improving the quality of national human resources.
Increase career change opportunities
Ms. Vu Thi Thanh Lieu - Deputy Director of the Hanoi City Employment Service Center shared that in addition to unemployment benefits, workers are also consulted, introduced to jobs and supported with free vocational training. According to Ms. Lieu, this policy creates opportunities for workers to improve their skills or change careers in the context of a constantly changing labor market.
At the Hanoi Employment Service Center, popularly trained occupations include beverage mixing techniques, cooking, office informatics, industrial sewing and motorbike repair. To improve training efficiency, the center often invites businesses with recruitment needs to attend graduation ceremonies, creating conditions for workers to connect directly with employers and find job opportunities immediately after the course.
According to data from the National Center for Employment Services, in the period 2023 - 2025, the number of workers supported with vocational training only accounted for about 2.7 - 2.9% of the number of people receiving unemployment benefits each year. In the first 4 months of this year, this rate has increased to about 4.6%, but is still quite modest.
To improve policy effectiveness, Mr. Pham Xuan Vinh emphasized that vocational training needs to be closely linked to the recruitment needs of businesses. At the same time, it is necessary to promote analysis and forecasting of the labor market, especially new industries and specific human resource needs of each field to orient workers to choose suitable careers.
From a local perspective, Ms. Vu Thi Thanh Lieu believes that communication work needs to be further strengthened. Currently, the Hanoi Employment Service Center is promoting policies to support vocational training through digital platforms such as Zalo OA, online unemployment insurance fanpage and electronic information portal. Timely and proactive support will help workers quickly change jobs, reduce unemployment time and better adapt to changes in the labor market.
