On July 3, the leader of the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Tri province said that the unit is urgently coordinating with specialized departments to develop a plan to recruit team members for the pilot project to select young volunteer intellectuals to participate in rural and mountainous development in communes (abbreviated as Project 500).
This is a content implemented according to Decree No. 170/2025/ND-CP of the Government issued on June 30, 2025, regulating the recruitment, use and management of civil servants. The Decree opens up special opportunities for young intellectuals who have volunteered to work in the commune for many years but have not been officially assigned to the payroll.
According to the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Tri, currently, Project 500 team members are assigning work in many communes and wards in newly formed localities after the merger, most of whom still keep labor contracts according to the old Project. Among them, many cases have been attached to the area for more than 10 years in extremely difficult areas.
After completing the plan, the Department of Home Affairs will submit it to the Provincial People's Committee for approval to implement the recruitment process. The admission is expected to apply the same process as other cases of recruiting civil servants, establishing an admission council and receiving through interviews.
In Section 4, when recruited as civil servants, the Decree clearly stipulates: Members of the pilot project to select young volunteer intellectuals to participate in rural and mountainous development in communes in the period of 2013 - 2020 who are signing labor contracts to work in the commune (before July 1, 2025) will work in that commune from July 1, 2025.
In addition to Project 500 members, the Decree also stipulates many other groups of subjects to be considered for civil service, such as civil servants working at public service units, part-time workers at the commune level, or those recruited to associations assigned by the Party and the State.
Previously, as reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, in Quang Tri province (formerly Quang Binh province), 11/15 Project 500 team members have not been officially recruited despite completing the working time according to the project. Many people continue to stay in the area, contributing long-term in the context of many local difficulties.
Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Ha, a member of Project 500, shared: I have worked in My Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh (old) since 2015. Up to now, we have only had labor contracts and have not been officially recruited. Our biggest wish is to have a specific decision to stabilize our lives and feel secure in sticking with it.
In early July 2025, Ms. Ha was transferred to work as an expert in the Economic Department of Bac Trach commune, Quang Tri province, continuing the contract until the end of 2025 according to the plan to reorganize the new apparatus.
According to the People's Committee of Quang Binh province (old), in recent years the locality has gone through many reorganization of commune-level administrative units, leading to difficulties in arranging staff. From 2019 to now, the province has carried out three mergers and streamlined the apparatus. The formation of the new Quang Tri province, moving to a two-level government model, is expected to continue to increase the number of redundant civil servants.
