ManpowerGroup Recommends Actions to Address Vietnam's Future Labor Force Challenges

HANOI, Vietnam, Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and the first 100 percent foreign-invested employment services company to receive license to operate in Vietnam, recommends that as the country's emerging economy continues its rapid growth and becomes an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investment, greater emphasis needs to be placed on up-skilling the Vietnamese workforce to meet the needs of diversifying industry sectors.

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ManpowerGroup today launched a new research paper, titled "Building a High-Skilled Economy: The New Vietnam," which gives recommendations for how Vietnamese businesses can take a more active role in workforce development; collaborate more effectively with schools and colleges to tackle weaknesses in the country's education system; focus on career development and better work environments; and be more proactive in anticipating and addressing likely skills shortages.

Companies positively endorse Vietnam's potential, with approximately seven out of 10 employers surveyed by ManpowerGroup/TNS saying they would recommend the nation as a business location. Survey respondents also ranked Vietnam's workers in the bottom 10 percent regionally; around half rated the labor force fair or poor; and one in three said they were unable to find the skills they need. A separate ManpowerGroup/Institute of Labor Studies and Social Studies survey found that around two-fifths of employers in the country reported difficulty filling jobs.

"Around four million Vietnamese nationals live overseas and incentivizing some of them home to harness the skills and experience they have gained from working in other countries will prove valuable for Vietnam's growth. It is a country culturally wired to do global business," said David Arkless, ManpowerGroup President of Corporate and Government Affairs. "With the war for managerial talent heating up, exposure to other markets can help create a more robust executive pipeline of individuals who possess global experience and local knowledge."

"While low-cost, low-skill labor has helped fuel Vietnam's growth, it also presents a major future economic challenge as shifting skills requirements mean there is a pressing need to improve the capabilities of the country's workers," said Linh Nguyen, General Manager, Manpower Vietnam.

Herb Kochan, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ho Chi Minh City, reports that a large number of American multinationals have moved their operations from China to Vietnam due to labor arbitrage and the country's favorable business climate.

With the world now having entered the Human Age, where human potential has taken center stage as the driving force behind enterprise and economic growth, a lack of sufficient talent threatens to hamper growth in emerging economies. The ManpowerGroup research paper advises Vietnamese industry to work alongside government and educational institutions to create curriculums that address current and future workforce challenges. Vocational programming can help workers improve technological skills, project management capabilities and their ability to innovate and adapt.

Private enterprise may help add to the more than 200 colleges and universities built in recent years or contribute to teacher training programs. In addition, organizations can better engage their workforces by understanding employees' needs, enhancing development opportunities and clearly communicating the role they have in executing a successful strategy. Executives need to identify skills available versus the skills required, and concentrate on building those skills most in demand.

"Vietnam's labor force is short on technical skills, foreign language proficiency and management capabilities. With the right focus on up-skilling the workforce, Vietnam can take advantage of its young, industrious workforce that has enormous potential and an economic climate ripe for entrepreneurship," said Darryl Green, ManpowerGroup President, Asia Pacific and Middle East.  

Arkless today attended a Vietnam Bureau of Employment workshop in Hanoi titled, "Sharing Experience in Labor Sub-Leasing in Vietnam," where he discussed how to create employment, develop labor markets and respond to shifting skill needs in the process of international integration of Vietnam.

ManpowerGroup's historic partnership with the Vietnamese government, reached in 2008, allows the company to forecast labor market needs and develop local talent, contributing significantly to the country's continued regional development. ManpowerGroup also leverages its unmatched global footprint and local expertise to help foreign companies enter the Vietnamese market.  

You can download the research paper, "Building a High-Skilled Economy: The New Vietnam," at www.manpowergroup.com/research/research.cfm

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.  

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

About Manpower Vietnam

Through our Manpower brand, ManpowerGroup™ has been actively present since January 2008. Manpower Vietnam is the first 100% foreign invested company in the employment service industry in Vietnam. Within this period of time, Manpower Vietnam has established itself as the trusted workforce solution provider to its clients operating in this dynamic economy, for global, SME as well as local clients. Manpower Vietnam offers different solutions to clients ranging from HR Consulting, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Borderless Talent Solutions, Outsourcing and Permanent recruitment. Each solution is customized according to clients' needs and expectations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across the total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities and step ahead of the market.

Visit us at www.manpower.com.vn for more information.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup

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