70% of textile and electronics assembly jobs at risk of being replaced by robots and AI

That is the noteworthy information at the Workshop with the theme "Human resource development - a prerequisite for digital economy and green growth" organized by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor in coordination with the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Labor Newspaper on the afternoon of August 11.

Ms. Vi Thi Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Office of Employers (VCCI) said that to achieve major goals on digital economy and net emissions, businesses not only need to invest in technology, but more importantly, prepare and develop human resources to meet the requirements of "digitalization" and "greening" in the present and future.

Reality shows that the barrier for many businesses when transforming is the lack of suitable human resources, the skill gap between training and actual needs is still far.

According to a research report by VCCI and the General Department of Vocational Education in 2023, labor-intensive industries such as textiles, footwear, and electronics assembly - which employ millions of workers - face the risk of 70% of jobs being replaced by robots and AI in the next 10 years.

At the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Khanh Long (Deputy Director of the Department of Employment, Ministry of Home Affairs ) also affirmed that human resources have become the most important endogenous factor promoting growth. Without quality human resources, all policies, technologies and capital cannot be maximized.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Long warned of a significant gap between training programs and practical needs, with about 38 million workers having not received primary or higher training. The risk of being left behind is especially high for unskilled, middle-aged and female workers in industrial zones if they are not retrained in time.

Through discussion, the workshop's Organizing Committee unanimously recommended three urgent directions of action. At the policy level, it is necessary to promptly complete the Project on Human Resource Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which closely links human resource development with digital transformation and green growth; at the same time, build a national database on digital and green human resources to serve policy making.

On the business side, it is necessary to consider long-term and systematic investment in internal training as a business strategy; at the same time, invest more in training quality, link skill upgrading with career paths, optimize appropriate training time and technological innovation process, helping workers not to fall behind.

Trade Unions need to play a bridging role, proactively communicate training needs and bring skills training programs to the grassroots level, ensuring that all groups of workers have equal access to learning and skill improvement opportunities.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/nguy-co-70-viec-lam-det-may-lap-rap-dien-tu-bi-thay-the-boi-robot-va-ai-712246.html