Japan was the top market with 20,571 workers, followed by Taiwan (China) with 8,196. Other markets included the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, Singapore, Hungary, and more.  

The Japanese Government is conducting policy reform to allow highly skilled foreign workers to have long-term residency and expand the list of occupations for the "Specified Skilled Worker Programme" category 2.

The move is expected to increase the number of skilled workers from Vietnam, provide them with greater benefits and long-term residency.

It is forecast that the number of Vietnamese workers under the Technical Intern Training Programme and the Specified Skilled Worker Programme in Japan could reach up to 500,000. In the RoK, there were 48,950 Vietnamese workers as of June 1, up 9,300 from the same period in 2022, with an average monthly income of US$1,500-US$2,000.

Vietnam expects to send 10,000 workers to the RoK this year under the Employment Permit System (EPS) Programme. Currently, there are more than 33,500 Vietnamese workers in the RoK under the EPS Programme.

At a Q&A session in the 15th National Assembly’s fifth meeting last month, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said the sector will strengthen the recruitment and training of human resources and send contract-based workers abroad. It will also monitor enterprises providing services for contract-based overseas employment to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers.

Interconnected databases will be built to manage workers going abroad and returning home, he said.