Companies should invest in developing quality human resource and consider it a special asset, instrumental in deciding the company's fortunes in the future, said Nguyen Hai Ha, deputy head of the Consultancy and Personnel Recruitment Department of the KPMG Company.

A foreign expert helps staff of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation improve computer skills.

'Poaching' for professionals was becoming increasingly popular as the country faced a shortage of qualified personnel in many specialised fields, Ha said.

Though many university graduates join the nation's work force every year, lack of experience and skills, particularly management, leadership and presentation skills, were major impediments for them to find employment despite the high demand, she said.

"All companies look for qualified and skilled personnel. And that is one of KPMG's, an international auditing and consultancy company, main line of business. From our experience, we have found that the demand was higher than the supply," said Ha. Some companies had even conducted campus interviews to recruit students, Ha said.

With companies rushing to secure market share, many find no time to retrain personnel and resort to 'poaching' employees from other companies, she said.

To overcome shortage, universities and training centres should merge theory and practice, and collaborate with enterprises to train personnel, suggested Dang Duc Dung, director the Young Entrepreneurs Consultancy and Services Ltd (ECS).

At present, training centres, which have outdated and rigid training programmes, are finding it difficult to cope with the demands of enterprises that require mid-level managers and skilled workers, Dung said.

The demand can only be met if enterprises started investing in training programmes as witnessed in the recent agreement concluded between the Hanoi University of Technology, the Hanoi College of Technology and the Business Management Faculty of the Hanoi National University for training qualified personnel, he said.

Expressing his company's willingness to organise mid-term and short-term courses in mechanical engineering and data management for enterprises, Dung asked enterprises to sign contracts with vocational training centres, universities and colleges for ensuring a stable supply of qualified workers.

(Source: Viet Nam News)