Northern electronics factories seek to recruit thousands of workers

Hanoi and Hai Phuong cities and Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Ninh Binh, Thai Binh, and Bac Kan provinces were looking to recruit over 40,100 at the session held Tuesday. Half of the positions are for electronics workers while the rest for garment workers, guards, cleaners, sales and marketing agents, engineers, drivers, welders, storage keepers.

Bac Giang has the highest demand - 17,500 workers - mostly for electronics. By the end of the session, its factories interviewed 308 applicants.

"Demand at electronics businesses this year is high, while labor supply is low," Nguyen Van Hue, director of the Bac Giang Employment Center, said.

In the first half businesses in the textile, electric components and other sectors in Bac Giang laid off around 26,500 workers. But the demand for labor has since shot up, and they are looking to recruit 70,000 workers this year.

Hue explained the sudden demand by saying many are looking to expand production and many new businesses have been set up as orders have returned since July, mainly for production of Apple headphones and chargers.

So major Apple supplier Foxconn plans to hire 24,500 workers, while Luxshare-ICT (24,000) and New Wing Interconnect Technology (13,000) are among the other major prospective employers.

Some of the job applicants are from the south where there have been waves of layoffs. Some are seeking to move from other industries like textiles.

Hue said: "The switch is troublesome at first since the majority of textile workers are seniors who are used to doing simple tasks. Meanwhile, electronics requires young people who learn complex tasks quickly."