Middle-aged workers face fear of being eliminated

When the company asked to apply new technology, Mr. Khoa asked for three months to get used to it, but his superiors only gave him one month.

The 44-year-old man has been a designer and layout designer for a print newspaper in Hanoi for many years. When the editorial office’s strategy prioritized developing online newspapers, his work was less appreciated. Two years ago, he was transferred to work in distribution.

In October 2023, Mr. Khoa was called back to the design department and asked to update his skills and new technologies for the online newspaper. After more than two years of not working, his expertise had fallen a lot, grasping new techniques was not easy at the age of 40 and a month was not enough time to adapt. Meanwhile, his department had employees born in the 90s and early 2000s who mastered new technologies.

"I intended to work a few more months to receive my Tet bonus, but I couldn't keep up with the new work schedule so I decided to quit," Nguyen Anh Khoa, an employee, shared the reason for quitting his job five months ago.

Mr. Khoa went to receive his 6th month of unemployment insurance at the Hanoi Employment Service Center on the morning of March 20. Photo: Phan Duong — Mr. Khoa went to receive his 5th month of unemployment insurance at the Hanoi Employment Service Center on the morning of March 20. Photo: *Phan Duong*

In recent times, many people have shared stories of being laid off on labor and employment groups. One person (who requested anonymity) said that at the end of 2023, due to the company restructuring, a series of long-term employees from accounting, sales to IT were laid off.

A few days before he received the decision to quit, the company quietly hired a new person, paid him half the salary, trained him from the beginning and handed over the job in just 5 days.

Instead of sympathizing, many people think that this worker "should look back at himself and see how capable he is that he was replaced by a new person after only 5 days of training?"

According to Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, expert in human resource forecasting and labor market information, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Education Association, it is necessary to look at the overall economy and the requirements for human resources at this time following a new trend, that is, workers must have both degrees and skills, and must be suitable for the period of technology application.

"Simple labor will give way to skilled labor, and skilled labor will be replaced by people who have both a profession and skills and an attitude to accept new things," said Mr. Tuan.

In this trend, middle-aged workers can become a "vulnerable" group if they "still keep their old self". A part of middle-aged people tend to rely on "experience and understanding of life", their positivity and enthusiasm gradually decrease.

"After all, employers need efficiency, especially the desire to learn skills and technology, and young people usually respond faster," said Mr. Tuan.

People complete unemployment support procedures at the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center on the morning of July 26. Photo: Thanh Tung — People complete unemployment support procedures at the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center on the morning of July 26. Photo: *Thanh Tung*

With 13 years of experience in recruiting personnel, Nguyen Huyen Hao, CEO of a headhunting company in Hanoi, said that besides the advent of modern technology, AI is replacing many jobs in the field, middle-aged workers also face "overshadowing by the new generation of workers called Gen Z".

Statistics show that by 2030, Gen Z will account for 33% of the Vietnamese workforce. With technological strengths, sharp thinking and easy access to young consumers, many young people are seeing and leading, dominating the market, especially in the fields of e-commerce, IT or logistics. Hao's experience in recruiting Gen Z bosses shows that they do not want to work with employees who are too much older than them.

Furthermore, many businesses, especially in the IT sector, require only hiring people under 35. "Receiving many of these requests from customers, sometimes I feel like slapping myself in the face because I am also over 35 years old," Ms. Hao said.

According to Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, in the new context, middle-aged people need to abandon the idea of "living long to become a veteran". Young people, although less experienced, are trained and have youthful energy, so they are more energetic. On the other hand, it is also necessary to enhance the responsibility of job service centers in connecting jobs for middle-aged people. State management agencies focus on policy research, training support and improving vocational skills for middle-aged people to adapt to the labor market.

"Middle-aged workers who are willing to change and work closely with reality will never have to worry about being eliminated," said Mr. Tuan.

Ms. Hao also said that the current situation forces middle-aged workers to overcome their shadow, dare to step out of their comfort zone and mingle with young people to constantly renew themselves. This female CEO is also participating in many Gen Z communities to not only understand and learn their language, but also to transform her thinking and soul to be as young as them.

With 10 years of experience recruiting senior personnel at large corporations, Ms. Dam Thi Thu Trang, CEO of a recruitment company in Hanoi, said that many older candidates she has met feel threatened by Gen Z and are reinventing themselves.

Last week, Trang worked with a person who is the CEO of an international school chain. She shared that her staff had livestreamed recruitment, attracting many students to the school, which made her both curious and worried that "by the time these young employees are operating well, I wonder if the company will still need me."

“The nature of her job role is not just to operate but to promote the business. If the staff recruits more students, she will face the question of who is in charge here?”, Trang said.

This reality forced her to overcome her own shadow. Instead of traditional marketing methods, she now decided to appear on livestream to introduce the school, promotional policies and "close deals" right in the live session.

At first, she was afraid of being judged and speaking badly, but in the end, she still spent her own money to take a livestream course. "Contrary to her worries, she is now confident because her speaking skills have improved and her work is also smoother," Trang shared.

Like this female director, Mr. Le Huy Khanh, 37 years old, marketing manager of a logistics company in Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi, is taking some courses on using AI and new technology to serve his work in the evenings and weekends. Most recently, he took a class on using Chat GPT in content writing and using software to create videos himself.

"I went to school because I felt threatened," said Khanh.

Previously, he managed 10 employees, but since the end of the year, the company has asked to cut down, only keeping two. His superiors also asked him to update new technology in the industry.

"Instead of controlling people, I now have to control technology," he said. At the same time, he also has to take on many tasks, ready to do jobs that previously only required "sending troops."

Recruitment expert Dam Thi Thu Trang said that with these positive changes, "it is worth waiting for the middle-aged generation to solve the problem for themselves."

Mr. Khoa is currently a freelance designer, a motorbike taxi driver, and receives unemployment benefits to make ends meet. Working outside has more flexible hours, but the income is also unstable, while his two children are still in school.

"Before, I thought being a civil servant was something to be proud of, but inside I realized it was neither stable nor proud, it just made me stagnate," he said. "Civil servants and private sector workers must always improve their skills or they will be eliminated."

Phan Duong

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