Renovating vocational trainings, increasing labour productivity, and creating additional jobs for young workers are the 2015 goals of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen in an interview on VNA.

In 2014, the country generated jobs for around 1.6 million workers, a 3.6 percent increase from the previous year, including 1.5 million working domestically and 106,000 others sent abroad, Minister Chuyen said.

She continued to say most of the cities and provinces fulfilled their set targets, with Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, southern Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces, northern Hai Phong port city, and Mekong Delta city of Can Tho generating the most jobs nationwide.

The domestic labour market has developed further as job placement centres operate more efficiently, especially in the key economic regions of central Da Nang city, Hanoi, northern Bac Ninh and Hai Duong provinces, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The ministry signed and implemented a number of labour cooperation agreements with foreign partners from Thailand, Angola, Laos and Russia. Traditional key labour export markets such as Taiwan (China) and Japan grew by 29.4 percent and 96.1 percent, respectively.

It also focused on protecting the legitimate rights of overseas Vietnamese workers.

In 2015, the ministry aims to generate 1.6 million new jobs, including over 1.5 million domestic and 90,000 abroad.

However, Minister Chuyen noted that Vietnam is ranked only seventh of the ten ASEAN countries in terms of labour productivity, due to out-of-date production technology, high labour proportion in agriculture (47 percent), poor human resources quality, and ineffective administrative procedures and economic structure.

To solve these concerns, the Government plans to put forth renovation measures to apply advanced technology in the manufacturing process.

The Law on Occupational Education, adopted by the National Assembly and which will take effect on July 1, 2015, is a significant step towards improving worker qualifications, especially those in remote or ethnic minority regions, as it allows domestic and foreign organisations and individuals to open training schools equipped with new technology, she said.

Creating jobs for the youth is a major priority, Chuyen said, adding that the ministry will support occupational promotion centres to forge links between employees and businesses, while encouraging the youth to learn a trade as a practical alternative besides higher education.

VNA