(Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

According to the General Statistics Office, 9 million workers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of this year, with the service sector being hardest hit. The Government has asked the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to take action to help workers find jobs and strengthen the labor market.

Ministries, sectors, and localities are reforming their procedures to help businesses access government aid packages and support policies aimed at preventing bankruptcies and loss of income.

Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said, 'We need a plan to recover the labor market, solutions to improve the quality of human resources, and vocational training geared to market demand. Businesses which have not been affected by the pandemic need to focus on strengthening the labor market, and businesses which have been affected should bolster human resource training. Vocational training centers and businesses need to work closely together to develop training programs that will strengthen workers’ employability. The government has allocated 197 million USD to training and job creation in the post-pandemic period.'

Localities are using support packages in various ways and expanding vocational training for unskilled workers and self-employed workers.

Vu Quang Tho, former Director of the Workers Institute, said, 'Having a job is very important. Workers need a job to earn an income to live on. After they return to work, they need to improve their experience, skills, and attitude in order to remain in the job for a long time.'

In order to stabilize the labor market, businesses need to restructure their workforce to adapt to the “new normal”. One way to prevent disruption of the labor force in the post-pandemic period is to encourage workers take advantage of training and re-training courses to improve their skills or qualify for a new job.