(Illustrative photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Improving labour productivity is vital for Vietnamese businesses in the contextof the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with rapid increases in digitalisation,robotisation and intelligent automation, experts said.
Labour productivity was thecore factor in the competitiveness of the economy and every enterprise.
However, labour productivity ofVietnam remained low compared to other countries in the region, according toNguyen Chi Hai and Huynh Ngoc Chuong from the University of Economics and Lawunder the Vietnam National University, HCM City.
In a publication on the onlinenewspaper of the Government baochinhphu.vn,they cited statistics from the Asian Productivity Organisation showing that theper-hour labour productivity level of Vietnam was 5.2 USD, higher than Cambodiaand Myanmar, but lower than Laos.
Vietnam’s labour productivitywas equivalent to eight percent of Singapore and 35.86 percent of Thailand.
In addition, most private firmsof Vietnam (98 percent) were of micro, small and medium sizes, meaning thatlabour intensity, limited technology and management capacity and low productquality remained common, they pointed out.
Inadequate investment forresearch and development also limited the competitiveness of Vietnamese privatecompanies. Most private firms were using technologies about two generationsmore outdated than the global average. Only 15 percent invested in research anddevelopment.
Foreign-direct-investment (FDI)companies remained dominant in exports.
Improving labour productivityis vital for Vietnamese firms to improve competitiveness, the experts said.
Vietnam needs policies toincrease labour productivity by 7- 8 percent per year, with a focus onproductivity in industry first, then agriculture and service sectors.
For firms, it was necessary toselect the products of their competitive advantage, renovate technologies andimprove management capacity – the key to boost labour productivity.
The experts said that in thecontext of Industry 4.0, promoting the development of knowledge economy,sharing economy and digital economy was important to improving competitiveness,which would help Vietnam to narrow the gaps with other countries.
Focus should also be placed onimproving quality of human resources and attracting talents.
While the US-China trade warremains unpredictable, Vietnamese firms were facing significant pressure.
“There will be many approachesto offer solutions for businesses. However, it can be affirmed that internalfactor will be the decisive factor. Improving competitiveness will be the keyto sustainable development of businesses in particular and the Vietnameseeconomy in general,” the experts wrote.
The increase in automation inIndustry 4.0 triggered worries about huge job losses.
However, Nguyen Duc Thanh,Director of the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research said thatthis is the time to improve labour productivity.
“This will be an unprecedenteddevelopment era of human beings in labour productivity,” Thanh said, becauseautomation would force people to learn to create new value./.
Labour productivity was thecore factor in the competitiveness of the economy and every enterprise.
However, labour productivity ofVietnam remained low compared to other countries in the region, according toNguyen Chi Hai and Huynh Ngoc Chuong from the University of Economics and Lawunder the Vietnam National University, HCM City.
In a publication on the onlinenewspaper of the Government baochinhphu.vn,they cited statistics from the Asian Productivity Organisation showing that theper-hour labour productivity level of Vietnam was 5.2 USD, higher than Cambodiaand Myanmar, but lower than Laos.
Vietnam’s labour productivitywas equivalent to eight percent of Singapore and 35.86 percent of Thailand.
In addition, most private firmsof Vietnam (98 percent) were of micro, small and medium sizes, meaning thatlabour intensity, limited technology and management capacity and low productquality remained common, they pointed out.
Inadequate investment forresearch and development also limited the competitiveness of Vietnamese privatecompanies. Most private firms were using technologies about two generationsmore outdated than the global average. Only 15 percent invested in research anddevelopment.
Foreign-direct-investment (FDI)companies remained dominant in exports.
Improving labour productivityis vital for Vietnamese firms to improve competitiveness, the experts said.
Vietnam needs policies toincrease labour productivity by 7- 8 percent per year, with a focus onproductivity in industry first, then agriculture and service sectors.
For firms, it was necessary toselect the products of their competitive advantage, renovate technologies andimprove management capacity – the key to boost labour productivity.
The experts said that in thecontext of Industry 4.0, promoting the development of knowledge economy,sharing economy and digital economy was important to improving competitiveness,which would help Vietnam to narrow the gaps with other countries.
Focus should also be placed onimproving quality of human resources and attracting talents.
While the US-China trade warremains unpredictable, Vietnamese firms were facing significant pressure.
“There will be many approachesto offer solutions for businesses. However, it can be affirmed that internalfactor will be the decisive factor. Improving competitiveness will be the keyto sustainable development of businesses in particular and the Vietnameseeconomy in general,” the experts wrote.
The increase in automation inIndustry 4.0 triggered worries about huge job losses.
However, Nguyen Duc Thanh,Director of the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research said thatthis is the time to improve labour productivity.
“This will be an unprecedenteddevelopment era of human beings in labour productivity,” Thanh said, becauseautomation would force people to learn to create new value./.
VNA
