Elderly workers stick to the construction site
Mr. Bui Van Hanh (53 years old, from Hai Hau commune, Ninh Binh province) is currently a steel structure installation worker at a construction site in Thuong Phuc commune (Hanoi). Mr. Hanh said that for more than ten years he has stopped working in agriculture and moved to Hanoi to follow construction projects.
At the age of 53, work has become a challenge for me. Climbing scaffolding or moving steel beams requires higher concentration because reflexes are no longer as fast as before, poor eyesight and joint pain every time the weather changes. Currently, my income is about 15 million VND/month, if I work overtime, I can earn 18 million VND/month, so I still stick to my job," Mr. Hanh said.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, 52 years old, from Cam Thach commune (Thanh Hoa province), is a construction worker and site cleaner at a construction site in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi).
I don't have the concept of retirement because I don't have a fixed monthly income. The job is hard, but the salary compared to farming in the countryside or working as a hired laborer is much higher, so I still try. Not only me, many brothers and sisters from the same hometown have invited each other to come to Hanoi to work at construction sites in recent years, everyone has a job and income is equal. People around 40 are construction workers, around 50 are helpers," Ms. Lan said.
Young workers are not interested
Working as a full-time technology motorbike taxi driver in Hanoi, Mr. Ngo Minh Hoang, born in 1996, from Nghia Son commune (Ninh Binh province) said that his average income is currently about 17 million VND/month. To have this income, Mr. Hoang often has to drive for 8-11 hours a day.
Driving, I am still more proactive, the constrained hours according to shifts and the commitment to progress at the construction site make me uncomfortable. Before driving, I also had more than half a year working as a worker at a large project construction site. The contract salary if full is about 22 million VND/month. However, the regulations on bonuses and penalties are very strict and the deduction for violations is very high. Late work, causing errors or waste of raw materials is the most heavily deducted. In some months, I was deducted nearly 5 million VND for the total errors," Mr. Hoang recounted.
According to Mr. Hoang, the group of 30-year-old workers like him does not like to be attached to fixed and strict work hours. Most people prefer freelance jobs, even though they know there are many risks when not participating in social insurance and income depends entirely on "plowing" hours on the road. In addition, the hardship and harshness on construction sites are also factors that make many people hesitant and hesitant.
Mr. Tran Long Giang - Director of Thang Long Architecture Company (TAA), Ha Dong ward (Hanoi) has been associated with design and construction for 26 years. Mr. Giang said that young people today rarely choose heavy jobs, strict time regulations make construction businesses face the risk of labor shortage. Especially, for skilled workers, contractors for large projects must "race" for benefits to attract.
Businesses both offer attractive salaries and bonuses for workers who introduce new personnel. The salary paid to construction supervisors at times is up to more than 50 million VND, but they still have to search tirelessly, through human resource supply companies or connected recruitment channels. My company has a medium-sized project but has to accept hiring construction supervisors from another business for 6 months to ensure work because it cannot recruit the right people," Mr. Giang said.
From that reality, Mr. Giang assessed that if young workers are not interested in this industry and state management agencies do not have effective plans, the labor shortage, especially in the construction industry, will be fierce in the next 5 years.
In Hanoi, the salary of the technical - construction block is from 16 million to 65 million VND/month
Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Employment Service Center - said that in July 2026 alone, the whole city had 41,700 people looking for jobs. Among them, the 35-54 age group accounted for 42.1%. The manufacturing - construction industry accounted for 35.9% of the entire market and increased by 10.1 percentage points compared to June 2026.
Regarding salary levels, the technical - construction block breaks away with the income of engineers, highly skilled workers and professional mechanics ranging from 16-65 million VND/month.
Sustainable attraction problem
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs - said that the reality of the labor force at construction sites is facing the increasingly obvious risk of "aging". To solve the problem of shortage of young labor at construction sites in the coming time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong recommends that businesses and management agencies need to implement synchronous groups of solutions.
Officializing labor relations: Strong shift from the seasonal contract mechanism through contractors to official labor contracts. Ensuring young workers are fully participating in social insurance, health insurance and occupational accident insurance.
Improving living and working conditions: Construction enterprises must focus on living infrastructure at the construction site (temporary standard houses, nutritious meals, modern protective equipment) to retain young people.
Systematic training and standardization of skills: Promote connections between construction enterprises and colleges and vocational secondary schools. Young workers entering the construction site must be systematically trained and have a clear promotion roadmap to shift/team management positions instead of just working as ordinary laborers.
Promoting mechanization and automation: Applying modern construction technology, machines to replace heavy stages to reduce physical pressure, creating a "technicalized" working environment that attracts the thinking of young workers.
