VIETNAMESE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY SHORT OF PERSONNEL

Despite its huge potential and forecasted annual growth rate of 12 per cent, as well as import-export turnover reaching $623 billion by 2020, the Vietnamese logistics industry is facing difficulties in enlisting personnel, especially skilled employees.

Do Huu Anh, FedEx Vietnam’s manager of the training department, assessed that the rate of successful parcel deliveries in Vietnam is lower than in other Southeast Asian countries. Furthermore, logistics skills in Vietnam, including order processing, storehouse controlling, , packaging, and broken goods handling, remain in great demand.

“The only way to deal with the issue is to teach personnel for each stage under specialised standards,” Anh added.

Vu Ninh, the representative of Gemadept Group, stated that the segment requires many skills, including working under high pressure, ability to handle problems, and analysing and evaluating data, and especially advanced level foreign language skills—the greatest weakness of Vietnamese labourers.

According to experts, current training methods are unable to satisfy the logistics industry’s demand for personnel, both in quantity and quality. Joint ventures between schools, businesses, and the government need to gain more substance.

Michael Sadlon, programme director of Aus4Skill Vietnam, said that training should target essential skills which will be necessary during trainees’ future jobs. The specialist knowledge will offer professional criteria for the segment. Therefore, trainees after graduation will be ready to enter the labour force with professional skills, meeting the industry's demands.

“This is a potential training model being effectively applied in many countries, such as Australia, Germany, and Singapore,” Michael added.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, the country currently has 3,000 logistics firms, and it is forecast that by 2030, the Vietnamese logistics industry will need over 200,000 workers.

Source: VIR