Page 26 - Layout 1

COVER STORY

Workplace change

the only constant

Ms. Valentina Barcucci, Labor Economist at the International Labor Organization (ILO),
tells VET’s Ngoc Lan about the importance of a high-quality workforce for Vietnam’s
further economic development.

Services and industry now also represent amounts of data on workers. If workers are
one-third. Agriculture employed the largest asked to wear a bracelet, information systems
number of workers in the country in 2000, can monitor their every movement and this
while the agriculture and service sectors now represents a threat to their privacy.
employ almost equal numbers (37.3 and 37.2 These all illustrate how the implications
per cent, respectively), followed by industry of technology for the labor market are a lot
with 25.5 per cent. wider and multi-faceted than simply automa-
An interesting indicator used to analyze tion. They also show how workers’ organiza-
the labor market is employment status, or tions are very much relevant in the digital
type of employment. This indicator tells us, era too.
for example, how many women and men in
the workforce work for their family. People % What is the biggest challenge to the sus-
working for their families often account for tainable development of Vietnam’s labor
a large proportion in the rural economy. This, market?
though, has more than halved over the last Vietnam aims to become a middle-income
20 years. Industry now employs more workers, country by 2030 and will then continue
and the proportion of those in the sector has towards becoming a high-income country.
more than doubled in the last 20 years. The greatest challenge will be that the strengths
This analysis also shows that one factor that take Vietnam towards being a middle-
that has not changed as significantly as others income country are not necessarily those that
is the disadvantages facing women in the labor will take it to the next level.
% Vietnam’s economy has been changing market. They still account for a high proportion The country’s low value-added manufac-
and this in turn has led to changes in the of the workforce who are often unpaid. Even turing industry, which accounts for most cur-
labor market. How do you view these in paid employment, their wages are often 10 rent FDI, has been instrumental in economic
changes in the labor market? per cent less than men on average. growth. However, a higher value-added indus-
There are many ways of looking at Vietnam’s try with innovation and a high-quality work-
economy to observe changes, and the same % Technology’s role in the labor market in force is necessary to ensure the continued
applies to the labor market. We can single out the future has been mentioned at recent development of the economy. The quality of
one element that can be considered one of seminars and forums. What impacts will Vietnam’s basic education is quite high, and
the most important in Vietnam’s change: trade technology have on Vietnam’s labor market? basic education is indeed what the country
openness. In exports, for instance, the volume When discussing technology and the future has needed to maintain a low value-added
and structure are significantly different than of Vietnam’s labor market, we often focus on manufacturing industry. However, employers
25 years ago. In the mid-1990s, almost half of automation, or replacing workers with will now be demanding more highly-skilled
all exports were coffee, rice and other agri- machines, and the challenges in training talent, which will require better-performing
culture products, followed by textiles, which workers. A recent report from the ILO’s Global TVET (technical and vocational education
accounted for about one-third of the total. Commission on the Future of Work highlighted and training) and higher education systems.
The share of agriculture and textiles has the role technology can play in promoting or The country will need a new growth model
now fallen significantly, while electronics, harming decent work. It can free workers to move away from the risks posed by the low
other industry, and services are emerging. from physically difficult or dangerous jobs middle-income trap and achieve moderniza-
Though the volume of both agriculture and and those in dirty workplace environments. tion, industrialization, and sustainable growth.
textile exports has grown remarkably in absolute Technology can also reduce the risk of injury This also requires a modernized labor market.
terms, it has shrunk in relative terms because to workers. Digital technology, through a Specifically, it is a market with graduates from
Vietnam now exports a variety of products combination of sensors and artificial intelli- a high-quality skills development system that
and services to international markets. gence, can provide opportunities to improve are trusted and invested in by employers in
A change in exports will change the labor workplace safety. Sensors can collect data on terms of time and resources. It is also a market
market. An analysis of Vietnam’s labor market workers’ hazardous movements and help that offers life-long learning programs and
at present compared to 20 years ago confirms identify high-risk situations. It can even facil- comprehensive access to TVET and higher
this. In 2000, nearly two-thirds (65.3 per itate the monitoring of working conditions. education, regardless of household income.
cent) of the employed workforce were in The report also points out some problems It is a market with universal social protection
agriculture. Twenty years on, this figure has for employment from digital technology. For and institutions that are adjusted to adapt to
fallen to just over one-third (37.2 per cent). example, new technologies generate large the changes in the labor market. %

24 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | FEBRUARY 2021