Guest workers find world more than welcoming The world labour market has been favourable for Vietnamese guest workers this year, the Department for Overseas Labour Management (DOLM) said in connection with its latest release of official statistics. In the eight months leading up to September, the number of guest workers that have successfully secured overseas employment has jumped 8.21% year-on-year to roughly 80,000. The DOLM said in the month of August alone the figures show the total number of guest workers that went abroad increased by 11,255, breaking down into 7,665 men and 3,590 women. Taiwan continued to rank as the largest overseas market during August at 6,455 workers, trailed by Japan in second at 2,222 workers and the Republic of Korea (RoK) third at 1,038. Through the end of August the country has met 83.98% of the target of 90,000 for the entire calendar year the DOLM said and it is optimistic the target can be met in the remaining quarter. Over the past few years, Taiwan has consistently been the market that received the highest number of guest workers and the recent opening of its doors to welcome offshore fishermen and nurses has helped to solidify that position. In August, the DOLM certified an additional 47 businesses permitted to provide nurses for families and 14 firms that are authorized to provide offshore fishermen willing to work in Taiwan. According to the DOLM, the firms sending workers to Taiwan are required to provide adequate training to the workers to avoid having to pay administrative fines when sending labourers to work there. In August, the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the selection and employment of workers in Thailand and Malaysia that clarified the legal procedures for sending higher levels of workers to these two markets. Vietnam has also recently signed MoUs with the RoK and Japanese governments that stipulate specific requirements that must be met to send additional guest workers to the markets said the DOLM. In particular, the Japanese program to receive foreign trainees provides an excellent chance for Vietnamese people, especially orderlies and nurses, and the prospects for increased levels of employment look promising. While some localities across the nation saw increasing numbers of workers, some are lagging with insufficient levels of candidates. The DOLM attributed this to two main causes – the qualification of labourers and money. For instance, the number of guest workers in An Lao district has been low as a result of workers lacking skills and the money to pay the fees to obtain overseas employment. The DOLM said it is working on programs to provide these workers loans of VND20-30 million from social banks to provide them a chance to go to traditional markets like Malaysia and the Middle East where they can earn on average incomes of VND3-5 million per month. Alternatively, other programs that will provide loans of VND80-90 million enabling workers to earn up to VND200 million per month in markets such as Taiwan, the RoK, Japan, and Australia are in the works. VOV