Speaking at the workshop on training and improving the quality of logistics human resources on the morning of October 12th, Mr. Nguyen Tuong, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Logistics Services Business Association, said that there are currently more than 3,000 businesses nationwide providing logistics services. Of these, 70% are headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City. 1,300 businesses are actively operating. 89% are 100% domestically owned, while the rest are foreign-invested businesses.
According to Decision 200/QD/Prime Minister, some specific development goals for the logistics industry by 2025 are: growth rate of 15-20%; contribution to GDP of 8-10%; outsourcing rate of 50-60%; logistics costs equivalent to 16-20%; Vietnam’s national logistics index ranking is 50 or higher.
However, the Vietnamese logistics industry is facing many challenges, especially regarding human resources.
According to the Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Logistics Services Business Association, the current workforce does not meet the requirements of the logistics service industry, lacking both in quantity and quality of high-quality human resources. There are currently about 200,000 professional employees out of nearly 1 million people.
The logistics workforce lacks comprehensive knowledge, has limited ICT skills, and has not kept pace with the development of global logistics. The level of English proficiency in logistics is still limited, with only about 4% of the workforce proficient in professional English. 30% of businesses have to retrain their employees.
Meanwhile, the demand for human resources by 2025 is approximately 300,000 professional employees with expertise, ICT skills, and English proficiency to meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, out of about 1.2 million people working in the logistics sector.
Mr. Tuong cited an example: a survey of 108 businesses by the association in September 2017 showed that nearly 50% of companies needed to recruit 15-20% more staff in the near future.
Pointing out the reasons why Vietnam’s logistics workforce still lacks quality, Associate Professor Dr. Trinh Thi Thu Huong from the Foreign Trade University stated that logistics training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels faces many shortcomings. For example, there is no specific major code for logistics, and the number of students is not large enough. The practical aspects of the profession are also incomplete.
This situation was also pointed out by Dr. Nguyen Thi Van Ha from the University of Transport, who added that the logistics ngành (field of study) is not formally trained at the University of Transport and Communications and has not been officially assigned a level 4 industry code. The training program is tied to another field, transportation business administration, making development difficult because it is constrained by the curriculum framework, the training is unbalanced, and the arrangement of basic and specialized subjects is illogical.
In addition, textbooks and reference materials in Vietnamese are scarce, and English textbooks are difficult to access. There are no simulations of logistics businesses, and software for optimizing the entire supply chain is not included in the curriculum.
The lack of close collaboration between businesses and schools is insufficient, impractical, and does not meet the needs of businesses or students, as cited by Dr. Nguyen Thi Van Ha at the workshop.
Based on these realities, Dr. Nguyen Thi Van Ha proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training create conditions and support the school in obtaining a level 4 industry code for logistics training. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant state management agencies should support the school in finding funding sources and create conditions for participation in human and material resource development projects to improve the quality of training.
“We hope that businesses will continue to cooperate more with the university regarding internship locations for students, teaching modules in the training program, and guiding topics related to practical business practices,” Ms. Ha proposed.
Associate Professor Dr. Trinh Thi Thu Huong from the Foreign Trade University suggested that the Government should review and continue to implement and develop policies that facilitate logistics activities.The government needs to develop policies to support the operation of LSPs. The relevant agency should work closely with businesses to accurately determine future labor needs and develop a rational training plan, avoiding widespread training that is costly but increases unemployment.
The government also needs to exchange and expand opportunities for international training cooperation for universities, creating a favorable environment for investment in education and providing scholarship opportunities for domestic students and staff.
“The Ministry of Transport should assign industry codes and develop a well-structured curriculum, and conduct quality assurance for the curriculum. Schools should cooperate with associations, centers, and institutes to design programs for students to enhance their practical knowledge,” Ms. Huong suggested.
