The Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) said Malaysia is Vietnam’s biggest labour import market, which currently has 23,515 guest-workers, followed by Taiwan (18,448), the Republic of Korea (10,158), Qatar (4,521), Japan (3,476), Macau (1,804) and other countries (7,445 in total).

The Republic of Korea (RoK) is a promising labour market for Vietnamese workers due to its relatively high salary, ranging between US$800 and US$1,000. However, the number of jobs is limited. Since Vietnam was engaged in the Employment Permit System (EPS) programme under the memorandum of understanding signed with the RoK in August 2004, it has the highest number of workers in the RoK compared with other countries.

At the moment, the centre for overseas labour, under MoLISA, is the only centre authorised to recruit workers for the RoK. On October 28, MoLISA cooperated with the RoK Ministry of Labour to organise a RoK-language test for nearly 8,000 applicants registered to work in the RoK under the EPS programme. Those who have passed the test will be eligible for employment.