As the year draws to a close, production and business activities ramp up, and with an increase in orders, many manufacturing companies are scrambling to hire a large number of unskilled workers.
STRUGGLING TO FILL POSITIONS DESPITE MULTI-PRONGED EFFORTS
“It’s extremely challenging,” shared Mr. Pham Van Chien, Production Director of Minh Quang Trading and Industrial Company Limited, regarding their experience hiring unskilled labor during this period.
Mr. Chien mentioned that their company is currently looking to fill 50 positions, 70% of which are for unskilled workers. The offered salary ranges from 7 to 10 million VND, and the company provides full social insurance as per legal regulations, quarterly bonuses (four times a year), and Tet bonuses. Despite not setting extremely high requirements and providing training for unskilled workers, Mr. Chien stated that they don’t have many candidates to choose from.
“The difficulty in recruiting labor, especially unskilled labor, is a recurring theme among manufacturing companies at the end of each year,” Mr. Chien said. “Workers nowadays have a lot of options. They can consider job opportunities in factories within the same industrial park or in neighboring industrial parks.”
Moreover, within the same area, workers can compare the pressure and income levels of each company. Sometimes, even a slight difference can influence their decision to stay or jump ship. This very reason can cause a shuffle in the company’s workforce.
According to the production director, compared to other times of the year, the annual recruitment needs at the end of the year are typically higher due to additional new orders. This year, these indicators have increased by about 5-10%. Additionally, the shortage of labor is also due to some workers leaving, so the company will have to add resources to meet production and business plans.
Faced with recruitment challenges, Mr. Chien’s company has had to explore various channels, from job fairs to connections with vocational schools, social media, and paid human resources providers. However, despite their efforts, they have not been successful in hiring the required number of workers.
“With paid human resources providers, we communicate our requirements for the needed labor group, and they find the supply source. This has been an effective channel for us in the past, but even they are helpless at this stage and cannot provide enough labor for our company,” Mr. Chien confided.
A similar situation is happening at Meiko Trading and Construction Company Limited, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, their HR representative. The company is looking to hire 200 people, most of whom are unskilled workers, with only 20-30% requiring relevant qualifications in other specialized fields.
The basic salary is currently around 5.56 million VND, but unskilled workers can earn between 7 and 11 million VND, including various allowances and overtime pay. Additionally, the company provides dormitories and transportation for workers from neighboring provinces…
Based on her observations, Ms. Xuan assessed that at this point, manufacturing companies are facing challenges in hiring labor. Because, by the end of the year, most workers have already stabilized their jobs, and there isn’t much job hopping. Meanwhile, companies usually see an increase in orders during this period. Some companies have also secured new orders that can guarantee work until the post-Tet period and even the first half of the next year, hence the surge in recruitment needs.
“Compared to the beginning or middle of the year when production rhythms are usually stable, our company’s current recruitment needs have increased by 30-40% and 15-20% compared to the same period last year,” said Ms. Xuan.
To find workers, the company has diversified its recruitment channels, from contacting vocational schools to even reaching out through the information channels of communes and wards where the factory is located. Local workers who feel that the job suits their needs can apply.
INCREASING RECRUITMENT NEEDS AND ONGOING CHALLENGES IN HIRING
Due to additional orders, Ms. Hoang Thi Chinh, a recruiter at Ricoh Imaging Products Company Limited, shared that, from now until the end of the year, they need to hire a significant number of unskilled workers, ranging from 300 to 400 positions, in addition to skilled workers.
“For unskilled labor, the company only asks for diligence. However, it is challenging to recruit at this time because workers rarely change jobs, waiting for Tet bonuses. The labor supply is also scarce,” Ms. Chinh informed.
Speaking about the difficulties in hiring unskilled labor, Mr. Bui Viet Nam, Director of Brand Communication at May Nha Be Joint Stock Company, pointed out that, in reality, young workers are not very interested in production jobs. They have tried almost everything to attract recruits, from participating in job fairs to posting on reputable recruitment websites, but to no avail.
The Hanoi Center for Employment Services’ report on the labor market in October showed that businesses have a positive outlook on their production activities in the last months of 2024. As a result, the demand for recruitment will be high in some manufacturing, business, and construction industries…
These are the areas with high recruitment needs to prepare for the peak season of the Lunar New Year holidays at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. Therefore, the challenges in recruiting personnel in the coming time may continue.
In this context, Mr. Vu Quang Thanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Center for Employment Services, said that the Center would continue to coordinate with local authorities to organize job fairs and provide information to connect businesses looking to hire with job seekers.
