 |
| According to National Assembly Deputy Pham Trong Nghia, Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest labor productivity growth rate in the ASEAN region. (Source: Quochoi) |
Need to focus investment on human resource development
How do you evaluate our country's labor productivity in recent years?
At the national level, labor productivity is of utmost importance, being the key factor determining the competitiveness of the entire economy. On the other hand, it can be said that high labor productivity is the key to national prosperity.
In recent times, our country's labor productivity has improved significantly. Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest labor productivity growth rate in the ASEAN region. The period 2011-2015 was 4.53%/year, the period 2016-2020 was 5.97%/year.
However, due to the low starting point and insufficient growth rate, the gap in labor productivity between our country and other countries in the region is still very large. According to World Bank data in 2020, Vietnam's labor productivity based on purchasing power parity is only 9.1% of Singapore's; 26.2% of Malaysia's; 46.8% of Thailand's and 68.7% of the Philippines'. The 2020 report of the Asian Productivity Organization also shows that Vietnam's labor productivity is 10 years behind Thailand, 40 years behind Malaysia and 60 years behind Japan.
Looking at the above figures, what should we do to catch up with other countries in the region, sir?
According to Report No. 577/BC-CP dated October 20, 2023 sent to the National Assembly, the target of social labor productivity growth rate in 2023 did not reach the set target due to a number of main reasons: First , the economic growth rate was lower than the target. Second , industrial production, construction, and real estate were difficult, a part of the labor force shifted to the service sector, mainly informal occupations with lower labor productivity.
Third , a part of workers change to a new job, need time to learn and adapt.
Besides, there are also long-term causes due to limited quality of human resources, lack of vocational skills; unreasonable labor structure by economic sector, failure to promote the leading role of intra-industry labor productivity, and limited application of technology and techniques in production and business.
According to the International Labor Organization, if labor productivity increases by 1%, the GDP of the entire economy increases by 0.94 percentage points. On the other hand, if there is no drastic solution, Vietnam's labor productivity will lag further behind other countries in the region, and the risk of falling into the middle-income trap is real. Our Party has identified rapid development of human resources, especially high-quality human resources, as one of the three strategic breakthroughs.
Therefore, it is necessary to focus more on investing in human resource development. It is necessary to develop and promulgate a National Strategy or Target Program on human resource development.
One of the important factors that determines the rate of labor productivity growth is the quality of human resources. Can you point out international experience in improving the quality of human resources?
Right in the ASEAN region, Singapore has clearly identified that the country's economic development will rely mainly on service industries such as health care, high-tech development, etc. To do that, Singapore has attracted high-quality human resources to work with good treatment and favorable immigration policies. Therefore, Singapore possesses good human resources and this human resource has contributed to the development of their economy as it is today.
Another example is South Korea, a country with a low starting point. In the 1960s, South Korea's GDP was only equal to that of Vietnam in the late 1980s. However, they have made miraculous progress to date. In each stage of growth, South Korea always set the top goal of training a corresponding workforce to meet market demand. They completely changed the salary and treatment regime for talents and made breakthroughs in science and technology, inviting leading Korean experts from around the world to work with high salaries and good treatment.
Shift from "golden" population quantity to "golden" population quality
Our country is in the golden population period, what do you think about the advantages and barriers?
Our country is in the golden population period with a large workforce of 52.3 million people, ranking 3rd in the ASEAN region. However, the quality of the labor force is not high, the rate of trained labor is only over 67% and the rate of those with certificates is only around 27%. If we do not have policies to take advantage of the opportunities and promote the strengths of the golden population period, this will be a huge waste, with negative impacts in many aspects.
The quality of human resources is the fundamental factor determining labor productivity, and high labor productivity is the key to national prosperity. Meanwhile, the golden population period is a one-time period in the development process of each country. In our country, the golden population period is expected to end in 2038. Therefore, in my opinion, we need to maximize the advantage of the golden population to develop the economy and society, proactively accumulate resources to cope with the aging population period.
 |
| National Assembly Deputy Pham Trong Nghia: It is necessary to develop a strategy to enhance the value of Vietnamese workers. (Source: VGP) |
What solutions do you recommend to transform "gold" in quantity into "gold" in quality?
Yes, currently, our country is in the golden population period with a large labor force. The important issue is to move from the "golden" population period in terms of quantity to the "golden" population period in terms of quality, there must be a comprehensive, comprehensive solution.
In my opinion, first, it is necessary to urgently issue the Human Resource Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, based on a summary and assessment of the implementation of this strategy in the period 2011-2020. Develop a project to attract and employ talented people. Research and comprehensively innovate the working regime in the public sector; improve public service culture and ethics.
In addition, the National Assembly has issued many important documents to institutionalize and implement the Party's viewpoints on the three strategic breakthroughs. Highlights include: Regarding the strategic breakthrough on institutional improvement: The Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued Plan No. 81 with 137 legislative tasks for the 15th National Assembly Term.
Regarding the strategic breakthrough in building the infrastructure system, the National Assembly decided that the total medium-term investment capital from the state budget for the period 21-25 is 2.8 million billion VND, an increase of 37% compared to the period 16-20, most of which is for infrastructure development.
The National Assembly has also approved national-level plans and strategies to orient the country's development space. However, there is still no comprehensive program at the National Assembly level related to strategic breakthroughs in human resources. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is necessary to build a National Target Program on Human Resources Development.
Second, develop and promulgate the National Strategy on Developing the Intellectual Team for the 2021-2030 period to institutionalize Conclusion No. 52-KL/TW dated May 30, 2019 of the Secretariat. Develop a mechanism to bridge the labor market with the education system, to solve the problem of supply-demand imbalance. Quickly deploy and implement the National Program on Increasing Labor Productivity. On November 8, 2023, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1305/QD-TTg approving the National Program on Increasing Labor Productivity by 2030. In which, the goal is to strive to be in the group of 3 leading ASEAN countries in terms of labor productivity growth rate by 2030.
Third, along with strategies for developing and effectively using domestic human resources, it is necessary to develop a strategy to attract the enormous resources of more than 5.3 million Vietnamese people abroad, especially attracting natural scientists, basic scientists, and experts in social management. To do so, delegates suggested that there should be a working environment that is attractive enough for scientists and experts to confidently return to commit to and contribute to their homeland and country.
Finally, it is necessary to build a strategy to increase the value of Vietnamese labor and gradually say no to cheap labor.
Thank you sir
Source
Comment (0)