More quality manpower needed for logistics sector

Amid the logistics industry’s development and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new logistics services have increased and required more quality and creative human resources, heard a forum held both in person and virtually on October 15.

Vo Tan Thanh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said developing human resources is one of the five focal tasks during the country’s socio-economic process in the time ahead. Improving logistics services and developing infrastructure are also considered important factors for enhancing the economy’s competitiveness, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic and Industry 4.0 have generated new challenges, affected Vietnam’s economic development, and changed the business environment around the globe.

Truong Anh Dung, General Director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the Prime Minister recently approved a pilot programme on training and re-training to improve human resources’ skills to meet requirements of Industry 4.0.

This programme aims to improve workers’ knowledge and skills so that they can master and effectively apply technological advances of Industry 4.0 and meet enterprises’ human resources demand, and helps improve labour productivity and national competitiveness.

At the forum, participants discussed issues relevant to education, training, and improvement of the quality of human resources, including in the logistics industry. They also shared initiatives, new mindsets, and forecasts about logistics manpower.

Assoc. Prof. and Dr Thai Van Vinh from the Australia-based RMIT University pointed out that logistics and manufacturing businesses in Vietnam always face a serious shortage of manpower for logistics job positions.

He held that amid the development of the logistics industry and Industry 4.0, new logistics services have increased, requiring more quality and creative human resources.

State agencies, schools, and enterprises need to join hands to anticipate trends, opportunities and challenges; and to work out solutions so as to improve the quality of logistics manpower as well as general human resources in Vietnam, he added.

The forum was part of the Vietnam - Australia cooperation in promoting the quality of vocational education, with a trial enterprise-led training model carried out in the logistics sector since 2017, under the Vietnam - Australia Partnership for Human Resource Development (Aus4Skills) programme./.