With the attraction of nearly 1.75 billion USD from 15 newly licensed projects and 14 projects with increased capital in 2024, Nghe An Province has maintained its position in the group of 10 leading provinces and cities in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

As a locality with a large population, Nghe An Province has about 50,000 people added to the workforce every year, but businesses in the province are facing difficulties in recruiting and attracting workers, especially skilled and high-quality workers.

Attracting workers is difficult, “retaining” them is even harder

The Southeast Economic Zone and industrial parks of Nghe An Province currently have 322 valid projects, with a total investment capital of over 185 trillion VND. There are 224 domestic projects and 98 FDI projects. The project focuses on producing electronic products, optics, auto parts and some green products (solar panels, high-performance batteries, etc.).

Notably, several technology corporations in the global value chain have built production facilities in the Southeast Economic Zone, with high investment value, production capacity and large market scale.

Regarding labour, more than 49,000 workers and labourers are working in the Southeast Economic Zone and industrial parks of Nghe An Province. The proportion of labourers aged 15-34 accounts for 35%, and those aged 35 and over accounts for 65%. With the rapid development of projects in industrial parks in the province, the demand for labour is increasing rapidly, especially projects in the textile and electronics sectors. The local labour shortage affects the production and business of enterprises, affecting the province’s investment attraction.

According to the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board, the labour recruitment demand of enterprises in economic zones and industrial parks, especially FDI enterprises, will continue to increase by more than 40,000 workers in 2025.

In VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park, there are currently seven investment projects in the ecosystem of Luxshare – ICT Group. Do Nhat Hoang Tat, Human Resources Director of Luxshare – ICT Nghe An Company, said: In June 2020, Luxshare – ICT Group decided to invest in VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park.

After four years, the Company has developed seven factories and more than 14,000 workers. In August 2022, the Group’s leaders came to survey and decided to invest in Luxshare – ICT Nghe An 2 Project. Initially only processing, the enterprise has gradually produced electronic, optical, acoustical and other products.

It is expected that by 2028, the enterprise will need up to 28,000 workers. “This is a big challenge that we are facing, and we need great attention and support from local authorities at all levels and vocational schools,” a Luxshare – ICT Nghe An Company representative emphasised.

According to Teng Wei Hong, General Director of VSIP Nghe An Company Limited: In Nghe An, VSIP is developing two major projects. From the first VSIP Nghe An project implemented in 2015 in Hung Nguyen District, in 2023, VSIP will continue to implement the VSIP Nghe An 2 project in Dien Chau District.

To date, the total FDI capital of VSIP Nghe An and secondary investors in the industrial park has reached 3.1 billion USD. The occupancy rate at VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park in Hung Nguyen is over 90%. “Thanks to the support of the local authorities and the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board, we have attracted more than ten leading manufacturers in electronics, precision mechanics and smart equipment. The number of workers in the Industrial Park has increased more than ten times.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only 2,000 people, now it has increased to 23,000 people. In the next two years, the above industrial park is expected to create jobs for about 35,000 workers. This is a joy, but also a great pressure on attracting and recruiting workers,” Teng Wei Hong shared.

Statistics from the Nghe An Provincial Employment Service Centre show that in recent times, many FDI enterprises have recruited a large number of workers, but have been unable to retain them. Many enterprises have had more than 50% of their employees quit.

A typical example is Luxshare – ICT Nghe An Company, the leading enterprise in Nghe An Province in arranging accommodation for workers (with a dormitory area of more than 2,000 rooms). Specifically, in 2023, this company recruited 7,126 workers, but there were up to 3,793 cases of resignation.

In 2024, the number of workers applying for resignation and job transfer is also very large. It is forecasted that from 2025-2029, FDI projects in Nghe An alone will need to register to employ about 98,700 workers.

Many solutions to “pull” workers back to the locality

The reasons leading to the difficulty in recruiting workers for industrial parks in the area have been identified by the departments and branches of Nghe An Province. First of all, it is due to the rapid increase in labour demand for enterprises, especially FDI enterprises operating in electricity, electronics, footwear, semiconductors, garments, etc.

Secondly, Nghe An is one of the leading provinces nationwide in the number of people going abroad to work. In 2024, Nghe An Province had more than 21,000 workers working abroad under contracts, with incomes many times higher than those working in enterprises in the province and the country.

Thirdly, not only Nghe An but also many other provinces and cities need to recruit a large number of workers.

The income and benefits of enterprises in the northern and southern regions are higher. On average, enterprises in Nghe An Province pay salaries and monthly income to workers at 6.63 million VND, while the national average is 8.49 million VND.

For example, Hai Phong is more than 8.8 million VND/person/month and Ho Chi Minh City is 11.4 million VND/person/month. Right next to Nghe An Province are Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh provinces, the monthly income of workers is also higher, Thanh Hoa is nearly 7.9 million VND, and Ha Tinh is about 7.7 million VND.

Meeting the demand for labour is one of the “five readiness” that Nghe An Province has identified that must be well prepared to attract investment, including planning, investment premises, essential infrastructure, human resources, reform, promotion and active support.

To overcome the situation where the province’s labour force does not meet the demand for quantity and skilled labour, on January 2, Nghe An Provincial Party Committee issued a Project on strengthening the Party’s leadership in connecting labour supply and demand, solving employment, and attracting labour for domestic enterprises and FDI enterprises in the province in the 2025-2030 period.

Immediately after the Project was issued, the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee also issued a Directive requesting Party committees, Party organisations, authorities and socio-political organisations to thoroughly grasp and promote the implementation of key tasks in this work.

At the Job Fair organised by the Management Board of the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone and the Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An Province right after the Lunar New Year 2025 at VSIP Industrial Park (Hung Nguyen District), sharing with reporters, most of the workers participating in the event wanted to find suitable jobs right in their hometown.

Traveling nearly 100 km in cold and rainy weather to the location of the job fair, Nguyen Thi Hang (born in 2001, residing in Do Luong District, Nghe An Province) said that she had worked in an industrial park in the north with a good income.

With her experience, she hopes to find an office administrative job, such as quality inspection or personnel recruitment. Hoang Thi Ha (born in 1986) and Le Thi Thao (born in 1983), both residing in Hung Nguyen District, used to work as garment workers in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, and now also want to find work in their home district.

Or the case of Vo Thi Hien (born in 1989, residing in Hung Nguyen District), who worked as a worker at an electronics company in Taiwan (China) and has just returned, now also wants to find work in her hometown.

Attending the above event, hundreds of parents came to learn about recruitment information to send to their children working in other localities. Many workers said that working close to home is very enjoyable, however, it is also necessary to put on the “scale” the monthly income and expenses to consider.

According to the Management Board of the Southeast Economic Zone of Nghe An Province, 24 enterprises are consulting at this Job Fair, recruiting labour with more than 42,000 job positions. There are 36,000 unskilled workers and more than 4,000 trained workers.

Specifically, An Nam Matsuoka Garment Company Limited, operating in the garment industry, needs to recruit 2,000 workers. Luxshare – ICT Nghe An Company needs to recruit 33,000 more workers, administrative staff, accountants, and engineers.

Le Tien Tri, Head of the Management Board of the Southeast Economic Zone of Nghe An Province, said: The Job Fair is the first event in a series of tasks and solutions to implement Directive No. 33-CT/TU and Project No. 40-DA/TU of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee on strengthening the Party’s leadership in connecting labour supply and demand, solving employment, attracting labour for domestic enterprises and FDI enterprises in the province in the period of 2025-2030.

This is also an opportunity for workers who work far away to return home to celebrate the Lunar New Year of At Ty, and to grasp and learn directly about the working environment in their hometown, thereby having more options for suitable positions and jobs, helping workers stabilise their lives right in their hometown.