According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the garment industry is key to the Vietnam’s growth and development, employing about 2.7 million people, of which the vast majority are women.
The latest data from the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association estimated that the industry’s export revenues will reach 39 billion USD in 2021.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the industry hard with factory closures and lost income while major trends have accelerated, including automation and digitalisation as well as the introduction of greener and cleaner production to mitigate climate change.
Under the two-year project, starting in January 2022, the ILO will help the Vietnamese government along with employers’ and workers’ organisations to understand what skills the industry and its workers will need now and in the future.
The project will focus on those at the highest risk of losing their jobs due to COVID-19 and the increased automation and digitalisation in the industry.
ILO Vietnam Officer-in-Charge Nilim Baruah said that timely investment in skills can help speed up the economic recovery, allow a safe return to work, reduce the effects of prolonged unemployment and skills mismatch, and take advantage of opportunities that may otherwise dissipate over time.
