Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The youngest echelons of theVietnamese workforce must be quickly equipped with the soft and digitalskills needed to adapt to the requirements of the 4.0 revolution, a seniorofficial of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has said.

VCCI Secretary General Tran Thi Lan Anh said to increase labourproductivity in the coming period, "it must rely mainly on innovation andapplication of scientific advances."

She was speaking at the event "Dialogue on BusinessEngagement on Skills Development for Employability of Young People" inHanoi on September 27. 

She added: "If enterprises want to innovate, they must payattention to developing human resources, including the professional skillsdevelopment of workers, especially young workers."

At the event, co-organised by VCCI and UNICEF Vietnam, LesleyMiller, Deputy Representative to UNICEF Vietnam, said that enterprises andbusiness communities played a critical role in building and improvingemployability skills for young people.

"In a global economy increasingly focused on highproductivity and a skilled labour force, reliance on labour-intensiveindustries will no longer be a comparative edge," said Lesley Miller.

Nguyen Thi Thuan, former Rector of the University of Labour andSocial Affairs, said: "Today, besides job skills, businesses need workerswith soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving."

According to her research, 83% of university graduates areassessed as lacking soft skills, and 37% of graduates cannot find suitable jobsdue to weak skills. As such, 40% of new employees must be retrained. 

VCCI reported that labour productivity in Vietnam has improved inthe past many years in the ASEAN region, reaching an average of 4.77% per year,proving that the skill level of workers has been gradually raised.

However, according to Tran Thi Lan Anh, the COVID-19 pandemic andthe industrial revolution 4.0 were a "double shock" to the globallabour market.

"They caused increasing unemployment and social inequality,especially for the young workforce."

According to the General Statistics Office's report on the labourand employment situation in the fourth quarter of 2021, Vietnam has a"golden labour" structure. This means the population that can work(15 to 64 years old) accounts for a high proportion, currently about 69% of thepopulation.

Lan Anh said: "This is an opportunity for us to takeadvantage, creating a strong driving force for fast and sustainabledevelopment."/.