Businesses urged to help workers climb promotion ladder
Businesses urged to help workers climb promotion ladder
Providing rewarding positions and training, and giving employees more promotion opportunities could all help to resolve the chronic labour shortage in Laos, a senior official has said.
Speaking at the 8th Lao Business Forum held in Vientiane recently, Director General of the Labour and Social Welfare Ministry's Skill Development and Employment Department, Mr Phouvanh Chanthavong, said “Business operators should make sure they provide opportunities for their employees further down the road.”
“Workers always have their eye on a good position in the future; there is no need for anyone to stay at the same level or grade.”
At present many business owners are failing to create a pathway to success for their employees; they only look on them as a source of labour and nothing else, he said.
“We must let people know they can get a real job. If a person's entry position is that of an unskilled labourer, managers should train them so they become semi-skilled, then fully skilled, and eventually they might be a supervisor,” Mr Phouvanh added.
“Everyone has this kind of vision. For example we often hear people saying they are at a certain level and in the future they hope to rise to a higher level and they know they must work harder to reach that position.”
“We need to create the right kind of curriculum or programme and have the funding in place to do it. This will enable us to train our young people and build a better future for our workforce,” Mr Phouvanh said.
“We need to have further discussions on how much funding the state would contribute and how much should come from the private sector.”
“I am sure that providing workers with a steady job is the right way to resolve the labour shortage this country now faces.”
Another part of the solution would be greater cooperation between business operators and vocational training centres, he added.
In cases where this kind of cooperation exists, a business is able to attract the workers it needs, Mr Phouvanh said, citing the Toyota service centre.
Such partnerships can also be found in other countries. Some businesses team up with a certain group of villages where they know they can find a regular source of labour. Others work with youth training centres that provide them with skilled young workers.
A handout distributed at the Lao Business Form stated that a labour pool of 187,750 people was currently available in the business sector, but current requirements call for an additional 31,130 workers.
These extra workers are needed by the garment industry, processing industry, tourism, a steel rod production group, a furniture production association, construction group, KP industry group, and the Nikon and Essiloz companies in the Savannakhet economic zone.
This does not include the labourers required by two sugar companies in Savannakhet province and those required to harvest latex on rubber plantations.
Meanwhile, there is a large exodus of over 100,000 migrant workers seeking employment in other countries each year.
vientiane times
