The already-low number of Mekong Delta residents sent abroad for guest work is steadily declining due to a lack of professional skills, said Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Hai Chuyen.

Speaking at a review conference on policies for labor, employment and vocational training in the delta in Can Tho City last week, the minister said the quality of the workforce in the region is still low in terms of both education and professionalism.

Figures of the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed workers who completed high school education in the Mekong Delta are 10.5% lower than in other parts of the country while vocationally trained laborers in the region account for a mere 9.2% of the total.

One of the main reasons is the lower-than-expected qualifications of teachers, especially those at vocational schools. The curriculums of schools have not kept up with the pace of development and the demand of the market, Chuyen said.

Therefore, the minister asked the provincial authorities in the region to improve the quality of instructors and training facilities and methods to meet the needs of both local and foreign markets.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, head of the Department for Overseas Labor Management under the labor ministry, said the number of people in the delta sent abroad for guest work has been sharply slumping in recent times.

In 2006-2008, 5,200 people went to foreign countries for work a year but the figure in 2011-2014 has plunged to 2,000 a year, a mere 2.8% of the 88,500 of the country, said Quynh.

Quynh pointed out many reasons such as little awareness of benefits of labor export, financial constraints, and fear of cheating.

However, job creations within the country remain stable. Tao Bang Huy, deputy head of the Department of Employment under the labor ministry, said the number of workers employed in the Mekong Delta reached 10.2 million as of the first half of this year, up 133,000 people versus last year, with 1.58 million recruited in the 2011-2014 period.

SGT/VNN