HCMC factories go headhunting for workers

The move comes amid a shortage of thousands of workers due to Covid-19 impacts and a post Tet phenomenon of people staying back with their families, lengthening the festival break.

Garment maker Vietnam Samho in HCMC’s Cu Chi District is sending recruiters to the southern province of An Giang. Its factory needs an additional 1,500 employees but receives only 10 applications a day.

Sending recruiters to other southern localities is a measure being undertaken by several HCMC factories faced with a labor shortage that began last year when workers left the city for their hometowns after months of Covid-19 related restrictions and dwindling incomes.

Although 96 percent of HCMC employees have returned to the city after the nine-day Lunar New Year’s holiday earlier this month, the city still needs over 55,600 new workers to meet the rising number of orders at manufacturing sites.

Food company Cholimex in Binh Chanh District is one of the firms going to other localities to find the 500 new workers it needs.

The company has partnered with job centers in local provinces to find a group of possible candidates. One the list is finalized, it will send a bus to pick the workers up.

Cholimex promises a minimum salary of VND6 million ($264) per month, free Covid-19 tests and to arrange accommodation for workers moving to the city.

Workers of food company Cholimex in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/ An Phuong

Pham The Toan, director of human resources at the company, said that working directly with candidates in their localities is the best way to ensure successful recruitment and reduce dependence on job platforms.

Vietnam Samho is also offering several benefits to persuade workers to move to the city, including a stipend of VND180,000 per day for three months.

Accommodation will be arranged, and workers will be allowed to leave for their hometown once every month with travel expenses paid for.

Samho has also promised a “brokerage commission” from VND500,000 to VND1 million if a worker’s referral ends up working for the company.

The company expects this incentive to attract about 200 workers from An Giang. It plans to expand the scheme to other southern localities later.

In Thu Duc City, Nissei Electric Vietnam has been sending teams to other localities to recruit workers directly. It also partners with local job centers.

After a successful recruitment, the job centers often send their staff to factories to follow up with workers and find out if the company is fulfilling its commitments, said Tran Thi Hong Van, chairwoman of the labor union at Nissei Electric Vietnam.

“If the factory is treating its employees well, the job centers will continue to partner with it to send even more people to the city.”

Local job centers have been also been arranging online job interviews to help HCMC factories find more suitable candidates.