Labor in digital era – adapting to break through

FINAL PART: DEVELOPING A HIGH-QUALITY WORKFORCE

The establishment of Dong Nai City is seen as a strategic milestone, opening up new development space and fresh opportunities for the locality to accelerate breakthroughs in its next phase of growth. Within this development orientation, prioritizing investment in and development of high-quality human resources has been identified as one of the city’s three strategic breakthroughs, playing a decisive role in its socio-economic development.

Information Technology students from Lac Hong University gain hands-on experience at an enterprise. Photo: Cong Nghia

Human resources are not only a factor driving the economy but also the foundation for absorbing and mastering science and technology while promoting innovation.

Preparing a high-quality workforce

The establishment of Dong Nai City has created broad room for implementing breakthrough policies in education, training and talent attraction. Human resources must be upgraded in terms of both professional expertise and technical skills to meet the demands of high-tech industries, modern services and smart urban governance. Particular emphasis is being placed on developing a highly skilled workforce capable of mastering science and technology, in line with increasingly stringent labor market requirements and international standards.

According to Dong Nai’s development orientation through 2030, demand for new recruitment is forecast at an average of 35,000-40,000 workers annually, concentrated in sectors such as processing industries, high technology, supporting industries, transport and e-commerce. In terms of workforce quality, demand for specialized labor, particularly engineers in electronics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, is expected to increase significantly.

The synchronized improvement of workforce quality, modernization of production technologies and continued investment in infrastructure completion are viewed as urgent and decisive requirements for Dong Nai’s sustainable development in the coming period. In particular, with a series of key projects under construction and preparing for operation, demand for human resources to operate projects across Dong Nai City is expected to be substantial.

The Resolution of the first Congress of the Dong Nai Party Committee for the 2025-2030 term identified several breakthrough priorities. Chief among them is improving the quality of officials, particularly key leaders at all levels, while advancing the development of high-quality human resources in sectors such as high-tech industry, logistics, education, healthcare, science and technology, and digital transformation.

To build a high-quality workforce capable of meeting the requirements of automation and digital transformation, the Action Program implementing the Resolution of the first Congress of the Dong Nai Party Committee for the 2025-2030 tenure clearly identified one of its key priorities as promoting education and training while improving workforce quality to meet new development demands and international integration. The program also calls for continued comprehensive reform of education and training in alignment with socio-economic development needs and labor market requirements, as well as the training and supply of workers equipped with qualifications and skills suited to the scientific-technological revolution and digital transformation.

The “key” to sustainable development

According to the Department of Finance, Dong Nai currently has seven universities and branch campuses offering multidisciplinary programs and supplying highly qualified human resources to the locality and the Southeastern region. Meanwhile, several major institutions, including the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Aviation Academy and the University of Transport and Communications, are proposing to establish branch campuses in Dong Nai. This is considered a significant advantage enabling the city to proactively develop high-quality human resources to meet rising demand from industrial parks, high-tech zones and financial-logistics services, particularly workforce demand linked to Long Thanh Airport and the Long Thanh Airport urban area.

Meanwhile, vocational education has also been strengthened. According to a report by the Department of Home Affairs, Dong Nai currently has 74 vocational education institutions, including 12 colleges, seven intermediate schools, 55 vocational education–continuing education centers and other facilities providing vocational training. Several representative institutions have expanded their scale and upgraded modern equipment, including Dong Nai Technical College, Dong Nai High Technology College, Binh Phuoc College, College of Machinery and Irrigation, and Lilama 2 International Technology College, meeting domestic, regional and international training standards.

Nguyen Van Tan, Vice Rector of Lac Hong University in Tran Bien ward, said that to meet Dong Nai’s development requirements in the new phase, the city must regard human resources as a cornerstone of economic and commercial development. Therefore, investing in high-quality workforce training has become particularly urgent.

“With an existing network of universities, properly orienting key disciplines for the coming period is extremely important. This requires close coordination among the State, enterprises and educational institutions to promote the development of high-quality human resources aligned with practical demands,” Tan stressed.

At present, vocational education institutions across Dong Nai City have become increasingly proactive in cooperating with enterprises while paying greater attention to technically qualified workers, particularly highly skilled labor. Businesses have also shown stronger interest in creating internship opportunities for students, thereby expanding employment opportunities for graduates who are being recruited and assigned jobs in steadily increasing numbers.

Do Dinh Hiep, Production Director of Vietnam Precision Industrial Co., Ltd. in Ho Nai ward, said that as a manufacturer specializing in mechanical engineering and a pioneer in applying modern machinery, the company has consistently prioritized hiring highly skilled workers with remuneration matching their capabilities.

Skilled workers always have a solid position, rapid career advancement opportunities and attractive incomes. However, the labor supply remains both insufficient and weak, making workforce training and skills upgrading an urgent issue at present.

In early March 2026, Le Truong Son, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee (now Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai City People’s Committee), signed a plan on workforce training and development to meet the construction and operational demands of key projects in Dong Nai during the 2026-2030 period.

Under the plan, units in 2026 will conduct surveys and collect, update, manage and analyze data to forecast labor recruitment demand from key projects across the locality.

The locality has also developed programs for high-quality workforce development along with policies to attract and retain talent in order to meet demand for experts and highly skilled workers serving key projects.

Nguyen Quoc Truong, General Director of Anh Duong Irradiation Technology JSC in Long Thanh High-Tech Industrial Park, Long Thanh ward, said Dong Nai’s transition into a city would create greater employment opportunities for workers. However, both local authorities and the business community need policies to attract and retain talent.

In addition, competitive remuneration mechanisms, modern and transparent working environments, as well as support policies relating to housing, healthcare infrastructure, education, urban services and living conditions for experts, engineers and highly qualified workers should also be established.

Amid the powerful current of digital transformation and automation, Dong Nai has identified high-quality human resource development as a key factor in generating fresh momentum for sustainable growth. To adapt to this context, the workforce, especially younger generations, must proactively equip themselves with strong professional knowledge, occupational skills, digital thinking and the ability to master technology and automation. This is not only a requirement of the evolving labor market but also a prerequisite for Dong Nai’s workforce to adapt confidently, seize new opportunities and strengthen its position within the value chain of the modern economy.

By N.Hoa, T.Ngoc – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha