Not enough and not good enough: The problems of Vietnam's IT workforce

Japanese firms are not satisfied with the local talent pool, whose weaknesses can threaten the long-term growth of the industry.

Many Japanese investors have been complaining about the lack of skilled workers in Vietnam's information technology (IT) and software industry, calling for more support from the government to improve training standards.

At a recent conference in Hanoi, representatives from Japanese companies agreed that the local workforce still has a long way to go to catch up with global trends for new applications and technologies.

Sei Kudo, director of Fujitsu Vietnam, said the country is a crucial investment destination for Japanese IT firms.

He said the Vietnamese government should have policies to improve the country's IT human resources, both in quality and quantity.

Recruitment firm VietnamWorks recently reported that the IT and software workforce will expand 8 percent a year, much lower than the annual average job growth of 47 percent in the last three years.

Vietnam is expected to face a shortage of over 500,000 employees in this field by 2020, according to local media reports.


Vietnam's IT workforce has not met the expectations of foreign investors. Photo from hoptacquocte.com

Foreign investors are likely to be discouraged if the growth gap between workforce demand and supply is not narrowed.

Tetsu Funayama, representative of Mitsubishi Corporation Vietnam, said the company has chosen to do business in Vietnam because of the low labor costs here.

But he said local IT employees should improve their skills, including foreign language skills.

He also underscored the importance of the government and enterprises working together to remove obstacles that investors may be facing in Vietnam.

By Dam Tuan / VnExpress