HCM City (VNS/VNA) - With e-commerce andautomation changing the landscape of the logistics sector dramatically, therewill be a focus on re-skilling the existing workforce in technology, which willimprove the competitiveness of the logistics industry.

The remark was made by Le Duy Hiep, Chairman ofthe Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) at a recent forum in Ho ChiMinh City. 

He said that vocational education and training(VET) colleges often faced challenges aligning graduate’s skills with industryneeds, which leads to skills shortages in the job market.

As a result, graduates are placed in low-skilledpositions with employers having to invest in re-training.

“Close cooperation between logistics enterprisesand vocational schools has had remarkable results in improving thequality of logistics training,” Hiep said.

VLA members would continue todevelop linkages between VET providers and logisticsenterprises to meet labour demand, he said.

The forum on “Human Resource Development for theLogistics Industry and Future Trends in Vietnam”, held under Aus4Skills - anAustralian Government-funded programme by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerceand Industry (VCCI) and VLA, discussed actions to be taken to close theskills gap and shortage of skilled workers in Vietnam.

The Logistics Industry Reference Council (LIRC),an industry-led model established by the Aus4Skills programme, is an example ofa successful partnership between the logistics industry and VET providers todevelop occupational and skills standards in the logistics sector.

“Australia has made a strong commitment tosupport improvements to Vietnam’s logistics industry, which in turn we hopewill help advance Vietnam’s economic growth,” said Petrina Lawson, deputyconsul general of the Australian Consulate General in HCM City.

Members of the LIRC are state administrativeagencies, enterprises and business associations, training institutions, andVCCI.

The LIRC helps to ensure that the skills ofgraduates are relevant and meet employer’s needs, which results in improvedproductivity and efficiency in the logistics sector.

About 3,000 enterprises, mostly small and mediumsized, are involved the logistics industry.

According to recent statistics of the VietnameseLogistics Association (VLA), the logistics sector lacks about 180,000 skilledlabourers.

Logistics enterprises should consider addingwomen and vulnerable people to their workforce to limit the labourshortage in the logistics industry, said Phan Thi Le Thu, Deputy Rector ofVien Dong College in district 12.

“Women and vulnerable people can perform well inmany of these positions in logistics services,” she said.

Stanley Lim, Chairman of FIATA CongressCommittee, said the rapid growth of e-commerce would create demand foradditional jobs.

“Preparing graduates as newcomers to theindustry is necessary, with a focus on learning practical skills and newtechnologies, and building a talent pool,” he said.

Nguyen Hong Hai, Chairman of LITA Co., Ltd in PhuNhuan district, said most enterprises were often afraid that their trainedemployees would find better-paying jobs after they gained experience.

“Administration agencies should issueregulations on cooperation between enterprises and vocational school to clarifythe responsibilities of relevant sides,” he said

During the forum, many representatives frombusinesses, VET colleges, the Vietnamese government and Australian expertsdiscussed the importance of logistics enterprises’ role in setting skillsstandards and building skills for the sector’s future workforce.

Many experts agreed that training programmes atvocational schools should be updated regularly and be more diverse, focusing onon-the-job training.

Enterprises should also consider “puttingemployees first and customers second”, providing autonomy, powerand encouragement to employees, instead of only offering high salaries andwell-being programmes to retain employees.

English, soft skills and IT skills are amongthe requirements that workers need to learn.-VNS/VNA