VietNamNet Bridge – Many countries in the Middle East including Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates will likely attract over 50,000 Vietnamese workers this year, said the Department for Overseas Labor Management under the labor ministry.

The representative of a labor supply company hands out passports to Vietnamese workers who are departing from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Qatar as guest-workers in this Middle East country.

These countries are now having very strong demand for Vietnamese workers, especially those in mechanical engineering, construction and food processing industries, said Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, director of the department.

The Ministry of Labor and Society of Qatar last week signed an agreement with Vietnam's Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to receive 20,000 Vietnam workers in 2008, and expected to receive more in the following years," Quynh told the Daily on Wednesday.

During the meeting between the two ministries in Hanoi last week, the Qatari minister said his country is willing to cooperate with Vietnam's vocational schools in training workers before sending them to Qatar.

At the moment, there are some 21,000 Vietnam workers in the Middle East, including 10,000 in Qatar, 9,000 in the United Arab Emirates, and some 2,000 in Arab Saudi.

Vietnamese workers are said to be clever and diligent, and can meet requirements from the employers, Quynh said, referring to feedback from the Middle East's employers. However, the workers are also said to be poor in foreign languages and working disciplines.

Vietnam is expected to send some 85,000 workers abroad this year, equivalent to the number of local laborers sent abroad as guest-workers in 2007, mostly to the Middle East and Asian countries.

To attain this year target, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has sent a dispatch to some 150 labor export enterprises and vocational schools nationwide, asking them to tighten cooperation in training workers before sending them to the Middle East.

At present, the average monthly salary of an unskilled worker in the Middle East is some US$300, and a skilled worker can earn some US$600, according to the department.

Nguyen Luong Trao, chairman of Vietnam Association of Manpower Supply, said the country expects to increase the number of workers sent abroad by 65-70% by 2010. Therefore, labor export enterprises must analyze and forecast demands in each country so that they can meet requirements in such labor markets, Trao told the Daily on Wednesday.

"The most important thing for enterprises is to research the right demand of each employer, then do the cautious selection of workers and provide them with training before sending them to the Middle East," Trao said.

(Source: SGT)