VietNamNet Bridge – Do Huy Hoang, a 36-year-old student of the SONA International Manpower Supply and Trade Company's training centre in Ha Noi's Me Linh District, found work after returning from South Korea thanks to a support programme for former guest workers like him.

Workers produce Samsung mobile telephones in the Yen Phong Industrial Zone in the northern province of Bac Ninh with investment from South Korea.

He was quoted by the Cong an Nhan dan (People's Police) newspaper as saying that he was relieved to find the opportunity just a few months after his return.

Hoang was selected by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD)'s Office in Viet Nam for a training programme, which supports Vietnamese guest workers who return from South Korea and wanted to find employment with Korean companies.

He is among the lucky students who have managed to find employment with a monthly salary of VND5-7 million, even before the course has finished.

Under the South Korean Ministry of Employment and Labour, HRD's office was assigned the task in response to Vietnamese workers' concerns over employment opportunities upon their return to Viet Nam.

Many workers were worried about not being able to find jobs with good salaries, which tempted them to stay in South Korea, often illegally, according to labour experts.

To deal with the situation of workers overstaying their visas, HRD is offering a free training programme for returning workers and also introduced them to Korean enterprises in Viet Nam with high labour demands.

Hoang said like many Vietnamese workers from South Korea, he was previously worried about finding a good job in Viet Nam and wasting the money he worked hard for during his years in South Korea.

He added that this caused many workers to try to overstay and find work illegally.

Ye-Young Choi, head of the Training Department under the Seoul Hyundai Occupational Training College, another school selected by HRD for the training programme, said the school had signed agreements with 300 South Korean enterprises to recruit its students.

She said several South Korean enterprises had contacted the school, offering thousands of job opportunities for eligible workers.

Byung-Gie Choi, director of HRD's office in Viet Nam, said the office was actively involved in inspecting the quality of training activities at schools, aiming to help at least 40 per cent of students find jobs.

Students participating in the programme were offered training in the Korean language, computer skills, production management and leadership.

According to Choi, most Vietnamese workers returning from South Korea had gained diverse experiences, good skills and the ability to speak Korean after years of working in the country.

These workers, if given the opportunity to work for Korean factories, would certainly help raise the quality and quantity of production at the factories, he said.

In another bid to help returning Vietnamese find employment, HRD last month also co-operated with the Job Placement Centre in the northern province of Bac Ninh to hold a job fair for workers returning from South Korea.

The job fair attracted the participation of dozens of South Korean enterprises from many provinces and cities in northern Viet Nam, including Bac Ninh, Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Vinh Phuc. Also, nearly 250 workers from different localities in northern Viet Nam attended the fair to seek employment opportunities.

The HRD Office plans to organise job fairs in the central region and the south of Viet Nam as well.

According to HRD statistics, there were 3,000 Korean enterprises operating in the south and 1,500 in the north of Viet Nam.

Last year, Viet Nam managed to send only 9,000 workers to South Korea, a decrease of 6,000 against 2011, due to workers overstaying beyond the expiry of their labour contract, according to Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

As a result, South Korea suspended its Memorandum of Understanding with Viet Nam, forcing many workers who wanted to work in South Korea or return to the country to stay at home.

Source: VNS