AI shapes a new generation of workers

Widespread impact

With a pace of development and diffusion that has exceeded previous forecasts, AI is becoming one of the key factors driving profound changes in labour markets worldwide, and Viet Nam is no exception. AI becomes increasingly advanced, especially when it is combined with automated systems and robots, workers in many sectors and occupations face the risk of being replaced.

The structure of the labour market is changing extremely rapidly. A report by Microsoft Vietnam in mid-2025 showed that Viet Nam has about one million information technology engineers, half of whom may have to change jobs because of AI; 91% of business leaders are considering recruiting personnel for specialised AI positions. Looking at the labour market in the age of AI, Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of the Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA), pointed out the reality that many enterprises have cut up to 70% of their workforce after applying AI.

Moreover, the development of a branch of AI known as GenAI (generative artificial intelligence) will pose an even greater “threat” to workers. Specifically, the report on “Generative AI and Jobs” recently released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Office in Viet Nam stated that the rapid development of GenAI is creating profound changes in Viet Nam’s labour market. Accordingly, about 20.8% of jobs, equivalent to 11.5 million workers, are likely to be affected. GenAI does not replace entire occupations, but strongly affects the task structure within each job. This means that many positions will have to be quickly “redesigned”.

It can be clearly seen that the more technology develops, the fewer jobs there are for traditional workers. This inadvertently creates a class of “hidden unemployed” people who still go to work but do not earn enough income and no longer have opportunities for development. Therefore, the warning of Dr Pham Xuan Khanh, Rector of Hanoi High Technology College, is well-founded. “Viet Nam lacks a workforce with strong professional qualifications in new fields, while the ability to change careers remains limited. Workers can no longer remain complacent,” Dr Pham Xuan Khanh stressed.

Reality also shows that AI not only creates pressure on workers and technicians, but more deeply, also poses a challenge as Viet Nam’s labour market fails to meet the growing demand for high-quality digital human resources.

Change, or be left behind?

As AI penetrates deeply into the labour market, many people ask themselves: When will it be my turn to be replaced, and how can I help myself? Trinh Ba Hung, a former student of Ha Noi Vocational College of Technology who won second prize at the Hanoi vocational skills competition and graduated with distinction, is now working for a mechanical engineering enterprise. When asked, he also expressed concern about the future. AI is now replacing many stages in which he used to have strong skills, such as turning and milling. “There is only one way: workers must be proactive and become good at tasks that machines cannot replace,” Hung said.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Van Tinh, an information operator at Hai Van Bac Station under Hai Van Railway Signal and Information Company, said: “Given the practical requirements of the job, my agency is creating conditions for me to continue studying in automation. Without further training, people like us will find it very difficult to meet the increasingly high requirements in railway operation.”

Self-study, retraining and skills improvement are also the experience of most developed countries, and they have been doing this for a long time. In reality, the number of information technology graduates each year is quite large, but it has not met the practical requirements of enterprises, especially in new fields such as AI, big data and cybersecurity. To move towards development, we cannot erase the gap between training and market demand, but we certainly must find ways to narrow it.

On this issue, Dr Vu Xuan Hung, a labour and employment expert, recommended: “Viet Nam must strengthen governance and implement an AI competency framework for workers; promote responsible AI application; consolidate the labour market information system; and invest in skills training, especially digital skills and soft skills. At the same time, policies need to focus on gender equality, ensuring that women are not left behind in the process of technological transformation.”

Tran Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Education Association, recommended: “We need to strengthen state management in promoting human resource development, boost linkages and coordinated cooperation in career guidance, enrolment and training activities associated with practice and labour demand; create conditions for and encourage enterprises to invest in technology; invest in vocational training; link school-based training activities with enterprises’ production activities, and establish innovation centres at schools and practical training facilities within enterprises.”

Supporting enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, in accessing and applying AI is also seen as a key to seizing opportunities to improve productivity and create sustainable jobs. In the long term, AI will continue to be one of the important drivers shaping the labour market.

Therefore, Viet Nam needs a strategy to support workers who are replaced, such as through skills retraining, contributing to protecting the central role of humans. At the same time, it must maintain seriousness in education and expand skills, improving the quality of human resources. This is also a necessary foundation for AI to become a driving force for labour productivity, strengthen investor confidence and enhance national competitiveness.