VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES  HA THI MINH DUC MOBILITY OF VIETNAMESE SKILLED WORKERS IN ASEAN COMMUNITY SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS Hanoi - 2019 The Doctoral thesis was completed at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Chien Thang Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Ba Ngoc Reviewer 1: Prof PhDoS Nguyen Quang Thai Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Ngo Quang Minh Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Dr Hoang Van Hai The doctoral thesis will be examined by Examination Board of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences At 447 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi The doctoral thesis can be found at: - National Library of Viet Nam; - Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences LIST OF PUBLISHED WORK Hà Thị Minh Đức and Nguyễn Bá Ngọc (2016), “Benefits of skilled labour mobility amongst countries in ASEAN Economicy Community”, Regional Sustainable Journal, Volume 6, No 2 Nguyễn Bá Ngọc, Hà Thị Minh Đức (2016), “Opportunities, challenges and policy implication to skilled labour mobility under the Mutual Recognition Agreements inASEAN”, Labour Science and Social Affairs Journal, Quarter III Hà Thị Minh Đức, Nguyễn Bá Ngọc (2016), “How will skill mobility bring economic benefits to the ASEAN Member Countries and the region?”, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference o Emerging Challenges: Partnership Enhancement ICECH2016 Nguyễn Bá Ngọc, Hà Thị Minh Đức (2017), “Skilled labour mobility in ASEAN – affecting factors”,Labour Science and Social Affairs Journal, Quarter III Hà Thị Minh Đức, Nguyễn Bá Ngọc (2017), “Development of Female Human Resources in Viet Nam”, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference o Emerging Challenges: Partnership Enhancement ICECH2016 Hà Thị Minh Đức (2018), “Solutions promoting the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers to overseas upto 2025”,Asia-Pacific Economics Journal, November Publication INTRODUCTION The necessitiy of the Thesis’ subject In the context of joining ASEAN Community, changes in Technology revolution 4.0 and aging population status, participation in the domestic and intraASEAN labor market of Viet Nam faces with a lot of challenges Viet Nam has promulgated many strategies and policies to promote more Vietnamese skilled workers to work abroad However, up to now, the results show that Viet Nam has neither fully utilized its advantages nor fully grasped the available and potential opportunities for sending workers to work abroad in a more benefitable manner, both in the short and long terms Therefore, it is necessary to review the strategies, policies and trends of national migrating workers to ASEAN to find a more effective direction Hence, the study of the Thesis titled "The mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community" aims at contributing to a comprehensive and objective assessment of the scientific basis, current situation, context, challenges and from those recommending the solutions to improve the mobility of skilled workers in the regional economic block, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese workers in the regional integration process and in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0 Research objective 2.1 Overall objective Make clear the scientific basis and current situation of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled labour in the ASEAN Community, thereby proposing appropriate solutions toward actively and effectively participating actively, ensuring national interests and benefits of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN labor market 2.1 Specific objectives - Analyzing and clarifying the theoretical and practical bases of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers (the outflow of skilled workers) in the process of joining the ASEAN Economic Community of Viet Nam; studying the experiences of other countries in supporting and managing skilled labor movement in the regional and international markets - Assessing and analyzing the current situation of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community during 2006-2017 period; the main results, limitations including in State management, opportunities, challenges and impacts of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in the ASEAN Community on the socioeconomic development and with the Vietnamese workers themselves - Assessing the roles and intervention tools of ASEAN Community (declaration, agreements, policies, mechanisms and policies supporting mobillity of skilled workers in ASEAN) - Proposing solutions on mechanisms and policies for developing and managing the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community, improving the quality of human resources to meet integration requirements Research Subjects and Scope 3.1 Research subjects - The mobility of the Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN - The management of mobility of the Vietnamese skilled workers 3.2 Research scope - Duration under research: The statistics of the thesis will be gathered in all three phases including before, during and after the official launching of the ASEAN Community (2006-2018) - Subjects under research: the Thesis limit its study to the flows of documented Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN according to and in compliance with the Vietnamese and other ASEAN Members‟ legislations The Thesis does not cover the subjects under the coverage of the ASEAN Agreements on Movement of Natural Persons (MNP) However, the relationship in comparison with these above-mentioned subjects in terms of structure, scale, quality, protection policies and management experiences will be considered in the research process Research Methodology 4.1 Research methodology and approach The thesis uses dialectical and historical materialism to study The analysis, evaluation and proposals of the thesis are made based on the from-theory-to-reality approach, comparing and reconciling reality with the theory in an overall and systematic manner of issues under research The thesis inherits the point of views and theories on migration which have been widely acknowledged and applies theories of migration (theory on civil migration, neo-classical theory, social network theory, human capital theory, integration and trans-national cooperation theory, labor market theories, management theories) 4.2 Research methods Many methods have been used including: synthesis and analysis,logical and historical methods, inductation and interpretation, descriptive statistical analysis, data collection and processing New academic contribution of the thesis * Academics: - Systematizing the theories of international labour movement, especially movements of skilled workers in the regional economic block and under the impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 - Determining the nature and requirements of mobility management, influencing factors and evaluation criteria of the movement of a country's skilled workers to other countries in the regional economic block * Practicality: - Reviewing and assessing the macroeconomic context, labour market and the benefits of participating in intra-ASEAN labour migration to Viet Nam's economy and society - Analyzing the current situation of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community over the past time, the efficiency and effectiveness of mobility management; pointing out the main influencing factors, the successes and limitations of Viet Nam, assessing the causes of limitations - Clearly assessing the situation, trends, opportunities and challenges, mobility scenarios in the coming time and proposing points of views and solutions for Viet Nam to actively select and participate in the movements of skilled workers in ASEAN Community in an effective manner in the future in the context or deeper and broader regional integration and impacted by the Industrial Revolution 4.0 Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusions, appendices and list of references, the thesis consits of Chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of research situation related to the subject of the thesis Chapter 2: Scientific bases on movements of skilled workers in regional economic block and experiences of other countries Chapter 3: Current situation of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community Chapter 4: Points of views and solutions for mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers of Viet Nam in ASEAN Community CHAPTER OVERVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCHES Overview of relevant researches Current researches mainly focus on general theories on international labour movement, explaining causes for labour movernment in different economic development periods However, there has been no research on labour movement within a regional economic block, particularly the movement of skilled workforce Each theory introduces a different approach for explanation of the phenomenon but fails to analyze the core content, nature, requirement for management of labour movement and influencing factors as well as assesment indicators in the context of international integration and industrial revolution Therefore, those researches have not reflected typical features of skilled labour movement in the regional economic block in the context of regional and international human resource competitiveness In addition to researches aimed at providing a theoretical framework for international labor mobility, there are many modern practical studies focusing on analyzing relevant issues to find out the trends and rules of labor movement in general Studies on labor mobility in the ASEAN Community are quite various and continuous from before the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community so far, from an overview of ASEAN studies to the movement of each country's labor into ASEAN or of each ASEAN country to other countries The contents of these studies are comparatively fully analyzed from the situation to policies assesment and factors affecting labor flow However, in the period 2015-2018 and in the coming time, with the changes of ASEAN in general and of each member country of the ASEAN Community in particular, the current evaluations become less relevant Therefore, it is necessary to have a review with the current situation and information as well as updated trends on the mutual recognition of the skills of the block, the trend of 4.0 industrial revolution when some industries are at risk of disappearance and economic development orientation of countries have changed in the new context, etc From the overview of current research works, the study gaps can be drawn as follows: First, the theoretical gap about skilled labor movement in a regional economic community (research approach, nature, definition of skilled labour and movement of skilled labour, mobility forms, influencing factors, criteria for assessing the participation of a country in regional labor mobility and the state's management of migration) Second, the gap of practical analysis with up-to-date information on Viet Nam's participation in skilled labor movement in ASEAN, labour flows moving mainly to countries according to qualifications and professions / areas of trades, according to the forms of movement, actual income, professional capacity, English proficiency and Viet Nam's participation in implementing Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) among ASEAN countries Third, gaps in the new context (especially the international integration and impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0) and challenges, strategic views of Viet Nam and especially solutions for growth model, enhancing the capacity and efficiency of the state managment, improvement of human resources quality, supporting services and labour cooperation to meet the requirements of international integration and development as skilled labor moving within the ASEAN labor market Therefore, conducting the research on: "Mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community" will contribute to narrowing and overcoming gaps in theoretical basis, practical basis and recommend policies and solutions for Viet Nam to have a highly competitive human resource, meeting the requirements of international integration and effective management of the mobility of Vietnames skilled labour movement in ASEAN Community Research questions, research hypotheses and research framework of the thesis 2.1 Research question - What is nature of skilled labor movement in the regional economic block, what are the influencing factors, what are the criteria to evaluate the effectiveness skilled labor force movement of a country? - To what extent is the capacity of Vietnamese skilled workers and their ability compared to the requirements of the ASEAN labor market?; major limitations for the movement of skilled Vietnamese labor in the ASEAN Community; what are the main causes? - International integration, opportunities and challenges; the views and solutions for Viet Nam to actively and effectively participate in the mobility of skilled workers within the ASEAN Community? 2.4.2 Research assumption The issues raised by the thesis are studied according to the following assumptions: - Viet Nam's skilled labor movement in ASEAN has many limitations in terms of human resources quality as well as the competitiveness of workforce and effectiveness and efficiency of state management (growth model, legal framework, implementation organization, monitoring and evaluation and improvement of mobility efficiency) - The movement of Vietnamese skilled workers under MRAs is not the optimal option in the current context - Viet Nam can still take advantage of many opportunities, especially in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 context and promote its strengths as well as deal with challenges and limitations to promote labour mobility and enhance capabilities for moving skilled workers in ASEAN to integrate successfully and effectively 2.4.3 Research logframe Research logframe on movement of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH ON MOVEMENT OF VIETNAMESE SKILLED WORKERS IN THE CONTEXT OF ASEAN, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION CONTENT OF THE MOVEMENT OF VIETNAMESE WORKERS IN ASEAN RESEARCH CRITERIA (based on the migration effect theory: (based on the theory of labour movement, general management theory and labour market governance theory in particular) Size and strucutre of the movement: Mobility size Mobility structure Benefit of labour movement Management of labour movement -Quantity - Structure FACTORS INFLUENCUNG THE MOVEMENT OF VIETNAMESE SKILLED WORKERS IN ASEAN (based on the labour market, human capital, labour movemet, integration and development theory) Demand of skilled workers in ASEAN ( ageing population, lack of skilled workers, attractive income, cultural and spiritual life…) Supply of Vietnamese skilled workers ( capacity, low income, adaptability, English…) General regulations on movement of skilled workers in ASEAN and commitment for implementation Vietnamese developmet framework (including movement of labour) and management capacity Benefit of movement: - Income -Technology and labour competency -Labour market flexibility - Remittance… Effectiveness of state management Conclusion of Chapter Chapter has analyzed and reviewed domestic and foreign studies related to the thesis topic It is possible to conclude on the issues that have been studied and agreed as follows: First, the theoretical issues of international labor mobility are of research great interest, but there have not been in depth studies on the theory of skilled labor mobility in the regional economic block, particularly for ASEAN The thesis has identified a framework for studying Vietnamese skilled labor movement in the ASEAN Community The research framework is based on the theory of labor mobility, management theory in general and labor market management in particular, human capital thẻoy, integration and development theory This is an important basis for the thesis to continue to study more in-depth, especially on the nature, content of movement, management of mobility, influencing factors, criteria for evaluating effectiveness of movement Secondly, although there are some practical studies evaluating the mobility of international labor and mobility in ASEAN countries, there is still a lack of in-depth analysis and comprehensive evaluation of Viet Nam's participation in moving skilled labor in this block as an active member to build the ASEAN Community and the common labor market of ASEAN, especially in the context of integration with new investment and trade conditions, services and technology Thirdly, identifying research "gaps" is very important; the writer of this thesis has assessed these research gaps, thereby building research questions, research assumptions and research framework of the thesis to supplement the existing research issues Chapter THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ON MOVEMENT OF SKILLED WORKERS IN THE ECONOMIC BLOCK AND EXPERIENCES OF OTHER COUNTRIES 2.1 General concepts 2.1.1.Basic concepts The thesis examines and gives some basic concepts: - Movement / labour mobility1: to describe workers who "move" to a new place to perform labor contracts for a certain period of time (temporary nature) - International labor movement is the movement of labor from one country to another in search of employment opportunities and better income than the original place - Movement/ movement of workers in the regional economic block: workers in member countries of an economic block (with close economic link) move to another The term movement or mobility is used by the writer as the same meaning competes fiercely with intra-regional labor, especially at Singapore, a fastidious market of ASEAN From these studies, lessons can be drawn for Viet Nam as follows: Firstly, oversea employment is defined as a long-term solution to contribute to the country's economic development through remittances sent to reinvest and utilize the knowledge of the workers upon return This is the chance for developping country with potential labour supply can quickly achieve its growth target Secondly, step by step improve the quality of labor, gradually shifting from bringing low skilled workers to high-qualified / technical workers In particular, foreign language skills, skills, knowledge and skills must be improved (especially English and some languages of countries with deep economic cooperation or countries in the region); increase awareness and attitudes of workers who go and work abroad in a professional direction; properly assess the country's skilled labor needs and promote vocational education cooperation with the host country or base on the international standards to enhance bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition of qualifications Thirdly, renovating the growth model and sythetizing the strategy with the implemementation process; ensuring the feasibility of the policies at different levels It is necessary to manage the flow of skilled workers to limit the negative impacts to the economy, particularly “brain drain” in the sectors that need to keep skilled workers for domestic needs; taking use of remittances for reinvestment and restructuring the economy as bases for socio-economic development in the new context and suitable with the strength in terms of skills and potentials of the labour forces Forthly, constantly improving the legal system of domestic and foreign labor management in a consistent and unified manner, encouraging labor migration; strengthen the system of mobility support services and law to protect workers when going abroad to work; perfecting the organization, management and implementation system both at home and abroad; Synchronizing strategies with implementation; ensure the feasibility of policies at all levels It is necessary to manage skilled labor flows to limit negative impacts on the economy, especially brain drain in sectors that need to keep skilled labor for domestic needs; take advantage of overseas remittance resources and skills to reinvest and restructure the economy, serving as a basis for socio-economic development in a new context and in accordance with the strengths of skills and potentials of labor force Fiftly, respect and appreciate the contributions of migrant workers to the development of the country including financial and technical resources, proactive in protecting migrant workers, expanding the level of coverage of the social security system and creating networks to receive and handle migrant workers' problems in proper manner throughbilateral cooperation with the receiving countries Sixthly, fundamentally renovate the education and vocational training system towards integration with the region and the world to create real capacity for future employees including hard skills and soft skills Encourage the participation of 10 vocational education and training institutions in the regional and world education / training grading / ranking system, increase the participation of business/ employers / professional associations in the training process to create reputation and confidence in the quality of education in the country, associated with the output standards recognized by other countries or international community Conclusion of Chapter This chapter examines theoretical issues, theories of labor movement in the regional economic block, which are built on the basis of growth theories and international labor movemen theory as well as the formation of regional economic blocks in the integration process The whole chapter has analyzed basics of skilled labor movement in the regional economic block (nature, content, influencing factors, evaluation criteria) and also analyzed benefits of each member state as well as of the whole blocks in skilled labor movement within the ASEAN Community This chapter also analyzes the experiences of the Philippines, Bangladesh on labor mobility in general as well as the movement of skilled workers in particular, and measures to promote skilled labor mobility through strengthening occupational skills for workers It also draws important lessons on improving the legal framework, innovating models, improving the quality of human resources and improving movement governance capacity This is the basis for the Thesis to not only analyze the situation of Viet Nam in the movement of skilled labor in ASEAN but also to study and propose views and solutions to improve the efficiency of Vietnamese skilled workers movement in ASEAN in a clear and consistent manners in the following chapters Chapter CURRENT SITUATION OF THE MOBILITY OF VIETNAMESE SKILLED WORKERS IN ASEAN COMMUNITY 3.1 Viet Nam’s macro-economic context and labour market 2006-2018 The situation analysis on macro-economics, labour market, skilled labour, technical qualifications and jobs of Viet Nam in the period covering 2006 - 2018 shows that Viet Nam‟s macro economy has recorded significant growthwith GDP continuously rising The economy has been shifting towards a positive trend in the way that the service sector‟s contributionto GDP has been increased and that of the agriculture sector to GDP has been reduced Accordingly, as the economic structure shifts, Viet Nam has also witnessed shifts in jobs: jobs in the industry and service sector has increased and those in the agriculture has decreased These shifts have left positive impacts, helping to change the occupational structure towards increased skilled labour in the market 3.2 Facts about Vietnamese skilled workers moving out within ASEAN It can be seen from the analysis on Size of Vietnamese workers moving to ASEAN member states and the structure, quality of workers’ mobility within the ASEAN community, that ASEAN‟s impacts of workers‟ mobility in general and of 11 skilled workers‟ mobility in particular on Viet Nam after its official establishment in late 2015 have not been positive In fact, the number of Vietnamese workers moving to ASEAN countries has rapidly decreased both in terms of quantity and receiving countries‟ market Reasons for this can be explained as follows: - Markets in the region has been less attractive for Vietnamese workers doing traditional jobs overseas and there are new and more attractive markets for them both in terms of salary and working conditions - Despite the fact that qualifications of Vietnamese are not too low compared to those of other countries in the region, the gaps between skills and real requirements of each country continue to be considered.Without the advantage of being in the group sharing the same language in the region, continuing to only sending manual workers who have not been through vocational training or who have low, average skills, Viet Nam has difficulty in competing with other countries which are sending workers with the same level of skills with Vietnamese workers, for example: Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos - The making good use of international integration, particularly the promotion of mutual recognition to support free mobility of skilled workers have not been attached importance and this has been demonstrated by great progress and breakthroughs of workers both in the quantity, quality and the participating markets This is a disadvantage when there is a significant difference between salary and qualifications of unskilled and skilled workers and it is beyond the aim and mobility ability of Vietnamese workers 3.2.3 Benefits of workers’ mobility for Viet Nam The benefits of workers‟ mobility on Viet Nam (mainly in the form of overseas work) include creating jobs and reducing unemployment and thereby reducing employment pressure on the economy, creatingfavorable conditions for economic development through reinvestment and start-up from remittances, improving the quality of human resources in the short and long term 3.2.4 Efficiency and effectiveness of state administration of skilled workers’ mobility in Viet Nam A number of general assessments on the efficiency and effectiveness of state administration of skilled workers‟ mobility in Viet Nam can be concluded as follows: - Viet Nam have adopted guidelines and policies to encourage workers and professionals (skilled workers) to work abroad and consider this a strategic solution to create jobs and improveits competitiveness and integration The Vietnamese legal system has basically met the management needs of workers mobility by defining the functions, duties and rights of relevant government agencies, businesses and the workers Law No 72/2006/QH11 on Vietnamese workers working abroad under contract covers all forms of labor mobility, including skilled workers and does not limit the mobility of skilled workers However, the implementation of the law is still inadequate, especially the management of skilled worker mobility is not serious and strict; there are many complicated administrative procedures, therefore it is not encourageable for workers or managers to register, resulting in incomplete information on the flow of skilled workers 12 - Mechanisms, policies and guidelines related to promoting the participation in occupations in the ASEAN MRAs are incomplete, failing to meet the requirements of mobility The system of workers mobility support services have not updated information and requirements on labor mobility of the ASEAN Community, nor the needs of the receiving countries to provide appropriate services, meeting the requirements of skilled workers in need of movingwithinASEAN - The system of human resource education and development in general as well as vocational education of Viet Nam is still limited, not compatible with the international system in general and ASEAN countries in particular with regard to the program, knowledge, skills, and practice Particularly, dynamism, creativity and the ability to adapt to changes; analytical skills, self-study skills, social soft skills for example communication, coordination, working in groups, English language of Vietnamese workers are still lacking and weak, which are the main barriers that limit their ability to participate and compete in ASEAN Viet Nam still lacks policies which prioritize human resource training and development in line with the labor market trends in the international integration context under impacts of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 Low quality human resources and poor competitiveness are due to many reasons, but mainly because the training system can not meet the demand, employers not have much incentives to improve their implementation ability; mechanisms andpolicies have not kept pace with the country's changes in the period of industrialization and modernization, and under strong impacts of technology and integration in the new context -The Government has paid special attention to promoting bilateral relations on labour however it only limits at the strengthening of labour management based on laws and policies of Viet Nam and the receiving countries and the promotion of workers to work in a number of low and average skilled occupations The connecting and entering skilled labour market of the region has not been very welldone 3.3 Factors affecting the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in the ASEAN Community 3.3.1 Needs of ASEAN countries General assessment about ASEAN countries‟ needs of skilled workers shows that: - The need of workers from ASEAN countries is significant with the total migrant workers accounting for 51% of the world‟s Particularly, the labourflow in ASEAN is more vibrantthan that in any region of the globe, among those, Singapore is aging, Malaysia and Thailand receives quite a number of workers (from 1.4 to 2.2 million workers working in these countries each year) but Malaysia itself has lots of workers in Singapore Brunei is purely a receiving country which is in the aging process with the total number of 100,000 migrant workers each year ASEAN possesses a significant migration frequency and number because: + The difference in economic development and structure among countries, with significant variations among GDP per capita of the member states, leading to differences in terms of productivity and therefore, income/ wage is quite different, leading to the fact 13 that labour flows head towards high per capita income countries for example: Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand These differences will affect labour mobility trends: workers will look for jobs in markets where there are labour needs but with higher salary and productivity + ASEAN countries‟ workforce is different, from Brunei with 186,000 to Indonesia wit 118.2 million people People from high-income but low population density countries tend not to take low-wage and manual jobs while workers fromcountries with large workforce, high unemployment rate and low wages want to find better jobs abroad This difference in population characteristics will create a large movement in the region - However, it may be very clear that workers‟ mobility within the region in the past years is mainly those with low and average skills and the number of those with high skills is decreasing in the traditional groups of migrant workers This can be explained by the fact that ASEAN countries have not built up their real capacity of skilled worker training, except Singapore and a small part of Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, partly because these countries themselves also try to protect skilled job positions for their own citizens, and partly because traditionally highly skilled workers from other countries also penetrate into markets like India, Australia or the US - There will be lots of changes in the trend of future workers' mobility demand Impacts of the Industry Revolution 4.0, the orientation of knowledge-based economy development, and especially the service sector which is increasingly accounting for a high proportion in each economic sector of the country, have changed the economic structure and generated new professions and skills needs, especially direct work on ICT or jobs that require ICT-related skills Skilled workers in finance, banking or management are still under the groups of skills shortage but they must be associated with the ability to handle with technology The service sector, especially medical, convalescence and nursery tourism, is also emerging as a future need in the aging society of ASEAN and there are many industries that require skilled workers -in practice, not just academic Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly study the ability to promote mutual recognition of skills (MRSs) in the coming time - MRAs aim to promote the free mobility of skilled workers in ASEAN and is a prerequisite for expanding the highly skilled labor market, first of all in occupations and then expand to other jobs However, the actual implementation shows that there are too many barriers to achieving the set objectives, leading to the fact that the number of registered professionals in the ASEAN expert list is truly extremely limited Quite a number of measures need to be taken to promote MRAs in the coming time 3.3.2 Viet Nam’s ability to provide workers Viet Nam's labor supply is experiencing a period of golden population structure The flow of labor migration from Viet Nam to ASEAN countries in the past years is mainly that of unskilled workers, in industries that not require a high technical level, most of which are craftsmen, then service industries, manual work and processing industries The scale of Vietnamese skilled workers in the occupations agreed to freely move within ASEAN is very small The 14 competitiveness of Vietnamese workers has not been able to rise from the 6th or 7th position in ASEAN, both in the past and in the near future wherethe 4.0 era is existing 3.3.3 The joint policy framework on workers’ mobility in ASEAN and commitments to implement In this section, the thesis reviews existing regulations / initiatives of the AEC relating to the movement of skilled workers in ASEAN with regard to the implementation apparatus, legal framework and procedures of implementation, for example: the ASEAN Agreement on the movement of natural persons (MNP); Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA); and the ASEAN Qualifications Framework (AQRF) Despite achievements in skilled workers mobility in ASEAN, contributing to the development of an integrated market, a general assessment shows that countries in the region remain standing in front of major challenges, which are: - There are no clear assessments and indicators for foreign skilled workers required for a country in the region; There are no specific assessments on the impacts of workers‟ mobility on the growth and occupational structure of a member country; The role of management agencies as well as professional organizations has not been clearly defined - There are still obstacles related to labor contracts (definite term or shortterm) and the duration of residence as well as the exercise of the rights of migrants The unfriendly policy of accepting workers from foreign countries will hinder the implementation of skilled workers‟ mobility in ASEAN - Lack of necessary and positive efforts to implement MRAs in practice There are currently no priority options to promote the movement of feasiblegroups of occupations such as engineers and achitectures Specific and effective participation of professional associations and the private sector is needed in the process of implementing MRAs 3.4.Viet Nam’s institutions, policies and the implementation capacity -A policy framework on workers’ mobility: up to now, the government has not adopted a specific regulation or a legal document on skilled workers entering a foreign country to work - Viet Nam’s policy and instutional framework on education and training: the training program is built on the existing capacity of the school, not the outcome standards and requirements of the world of work and occupations; and training quality does not meet with requirements of practical jobs with regard to skills According to the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (2015), the Government of Viet Nam has adjusted and revised the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) based on the steps with outcome standards for each level However, this framework has not been broken down by specific skill standards to help all stakeholders understand the outcome standards as well as assessment criteria to avoid ambiguities when implementing; There is no Circular guiding the development of outcome standards At present, only 60 national occupational skills 15 standards have been developed, those that have not been developed will be difficult to implement under the national qualifications framework Moreover, in universities now, there exist or systems of diplomas and certificates This makes it difficult to refer to and compare with AQRF 3.5 General assessment 3.5.1 Achievements Firstly, Viet Nam have had national directions and made significant effortsin improving the legal system and policy framework to support skilled workers mobility in ASEAN; Viet Nam has got a good foundation, system base, legal framework of policies and regulations related to the management of labor mobility; Viet Nam has also made the first steps to disseminate information on skilled workers‟ mobility in the region, facilitating skilled workers to access and master information on skilled workers‟ mobility in ASEAN Secondly, Viet Nam has had several decades of experience in sending workers to work abroad under contracts and other forms of labor migration (such as cooperation of experts, trainees, labor export under golden engineer programs) Agencies in the Vietnamese government system, socio-political organizations and mass organizations have experience in organizing and managing workers working abroad Viet Nam has quite a few companies involved in providing services ofresources creation, consulting, training, legal proceduressupport, workers‟ management before, during and after the worker mobility process in the ASEAN region and many other regions in the world Thirdly, Viet Nam has abundant and skilled young workers whoare quick at absorbing new knowledge This is a favorable condition for skilled workers in Viet Nam to achieve professional qualifications and skills to meet ASEAN standards and set mobility criteria according to MRAs The rate of participation in the labor force is high among ASEAN countries; At the same time, the labor force is quite large Vietnamese workers are traditionally hard-working, willing to acceptdifficult work orwork far away from their families and their homelands A part of Vietnam's skilled labor force can meet skills requirements in the occupational groups, especially nursing, accounting, tourism; they can register to be recognized for skills 3.5.2 Shortcomings Firstly, with regard to technical and professional qualifications of the Vietnamese skilled labor force in occupations, a part of them can meet with the skills requirements of workers‟ mobility in occupations in the AEC However, in addition to technical skills/ qualifications, most Vietnamese skilled workers are lacking and weak in other necessary skills (occupations and soft skills) Without early overcoming the limitations, reducing the "distance" of capacity compared to the requirements, Vietnamese workers participating in the occupations will be difficult to compete in the AEC to seek opportunities ofbetter jobs Secondly,orientations and development frameworks for skilled workers mobility in occupations in AEChas not been decided and selected, both at the regional and national levels Under ASEAN's general principles, agreements must be 16 on a voluntary basis and consensusof the member states However, all countries are quite cautious in developing a legal framework on workers‟ mobility, especially with regard to the accepting of skilled workers to move into their countries Viet Nam is one of the countries committed to promoting the implementation of labor migration initiatives, but face management capacity limitations, especially in implementing the commitments, monitoring and adjusting processes, procedures as well as evaluating and monitoring the implementation of set objectives Thirdly, so far, the number of skilled workers in the AEC in the occupations of MRAs is still very small compared to the actual potential (accounting for only 1% of the total migrant workers in ASEAN), even there are only dozens of skilled workers who really move according to MRAs due to difficulties in the implementation process Vietnamese skilled workersare in the same difficult context, only 217 engineers and architects registered have been recognized in the MRA registration system However, until now, no skilled workers in Viet Nam havebeen mobile successfully in the occupations of the AEC Forthly, technical difficulties also affect the free workers‟ mobility in the AEC,for example: mutual qualificationsrecognition arrangements among member countries are difficult to be implemented in a short time, becausethe systems of education - training and diploma - certificate issuanceof member countries are quite different Fifthly,there is a significant gap between the right to freedom of skilled workers mobility and the ability to move, which depends on a number of different factors, both subjective and objective In order to prepare for skilled Vietnamese workers to effectively participate in skilled workers‟ mobility in occupations in the AEC, the vocational education system for workers and capacity buildingare key barriersto meeting the requirements and standards of the ASEAN skills workers mobility In general, low human capital and work productivity are the biggest barriers for skilled workers from Viet nNam to move into the ASEAN labor market It is this factor thatmakesVietnamese skilled workers less attractive in the eyes of foreign employers, especially those from big enterprises and corporations with high work intensity and pressure 3.5.3 Reasons for the limitations The limitations of the Vietnamese labor force participating in labor mobility in the AEC are due to different subjective and objective causes The following main subjective reasons can be mentioned: First, Viet Nam's growth model has not yet facilitated the active participation in the movement of skilled workers in the ASEAN Community, the Vietnamese legal system is incomplete, failing to fully meet the requirements of workers‟ mobility in the AEC in general and in the occupational skills skills in particular Secondly, Viet Nam‟s state management overskilled workers‟ mobility in the ASEAN Community is still facing limitations: there are no specific national occupational skills standards to conduct comparative procedures and proceed to mutual recognition in ASEAN; there are no necessary regulationsaccording to 17 commitments in MRAs to certify equivalent qualifications; there are no legal documents on the establishment of sectorskills council; there are no specific regulations of management for each occupation groups in the eight occupational groups; awareness and, knowledge of workers in general and skilled workers in particular as well as that of enterprises on AEC integration, on MRAs and the ability of skilled workers to move are still limited; a number of businesses and workers are indifferent to labor migration under agreements; social protection policies for migrant workers also need to be promoted; skilled workers statistics are insufficient and weak Thirdly, the education system in general and vocational education in particular of Viet Nam is still limited, not yet adapted to the international education system in general and ASEAN countries in particular Forthly, Viet Nam's labor migration support system has not been updated with information, requirements and others on workers‟ mobility of the AEC and of the member states so that they can provide appropriate and responsive services to skilled workers who want to move within AEC Fifthly, there has not been much effort in promoting effective cooperation between Viet Nam and ASEAN member countries in implementing these commitments, in sharing information, accrediting and recognition of training quality, supporting registration and migration registration procedures to turn MRAs into reality, contributing to improving the operational effectiveness of the labour market of the region as well as of each member state Conclusions of chapter Chapter has studied Viet Nam‟s macroeconomic context, labor market andits situation of skilled workers, of workers‟ mobility in the international labor market in general and of skilled workers in the ASEAN labor market in particular The PhD candidatehas assessed the need for skilled workers of ASEAN member countries, the current status of Viet Nam's ability to participate in the movement of skilled labor in the ASEAN Community and the influencing factors from different aspects Although Viet Nam as well as ASEAN member countries are making great efforts to develop AEC and participate in the movement of skilled labor in the regional economic group, the level of official participation of Viet Nam is considered as weak in the scale, structure,quality of skilled workers, national and employee benefits, and the effectiveness and efficiency of the mobility management There are still limitations of Viet Nam‟s skilled workers mobility and it is due to a number of reasons They are: the growth model has not created favorable conditions for skilled workersto move and effectively move; the legal framework isincomplete, the management andimplementation capacity is weak, competitiveness andthe quality of human resources, of the education and training system is limited, appropriate support from the State and relevant organizations, adaptation and dynamism of workers compared to the demand, and improving cooperation effectiveness between Viet Nam and ASEAN member countries These are important areas for the PhD candidate to propose views and come up with solutions to improve Viet Nam‟s ability of skilled workers‟ mobility in ASEAN in the next chapter 18 CHAPTER POINTS OF VIEWS AND SOLUTIONS FOR MOVEMENTS OF SKILLED WORKERS OF VIETNAM IN ASEAN COMMUNITY 4.1 Context of the movements of skilled workers in ASEAN in the new situation The movements of skilled workers of Viet Nam in ASEAN are under the following context: Firstly, in the economic integration context, labour, employment and labour market of Viet Nam face with integration opportunities and challenges which can show strong and weak points in regional and international competitiveness The joining of the Comprehensive and Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement poses challenges to new and non-traditional issues like labour Joining the ASEAN Economic Community brings many benefits but also causes fierce competition for skilled labor among ASEAN member countries Secondly, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 will give rise to a job market that increasingly separates into "low skill/low-wage" and "high-skill/high-wage" segments Technology has been affecting to employment opportunities and improving the skills of about 44% of the working age population worldwide, creating new forms of employment such as flexible, accessible, transparent and large-scale jobs Labour market governance in the context of digitalization needs to be developed in a flexible, synchronous and long-term manners for optimal socio-economic results Thirdly, international migration and labour migration have been becoming a strong trend in the world to benefit all parties This shows that international migration in general and the movement of skilled workers in ASEAN in particular will have strong growth prospects in the coming time 4.2 Forecast of ASEAN skilled labour mobility scenarios during 2018-2025 So far, the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Agreements is still very slow and lacks of clear guidelines2 It is forecasted that movements of skilled workers under MRAs in the coming period may take place in main scenarios: Scenario 1: horizontal development, MRAs will be extended to all occupational groups Scenario 2: vertical development, using MRAs agreements only within certain areas or occupations Scenario 3: implementation of the signed MRAs but with detailed instructions for MRAs during implementation According to PHD candidate, Scenarios and will be more suitable for the characteristics and development level of the ASEAN Economic Community In order to promote the movement of skilled workers within the ASEAN regional economic blocks, three lessons can be summarized as follows3: ADB, Achieving skill mobility in the ASEAN economic community: Challenges, Opportunities, and policy implication, Manila 2015 Guntur Sugiyarto, skills mobility, ASEAN Economic Community, Published on Monday, 17 April 2017 19 - The harmonization of training standards is a complex issue, requiring strong commitment of participating countries and consuming a lot of resources - Countries need a choice between centralized and decentralized MRAs based on their own requirements - Common agreements signed amongst countries are effective only when each State Member of ASEAN has a strong and determined commitment to become a reality; This can be done through partial recognition with clear and simplified instructional proceedures for additional measures It may be seen that the slow implementation of MRAs will complicate the regional economic labour market relations and hinder the process of forming acommon production market, while negatively affecting the economic growth and competitiveness of ASEAN both in the short and long terms 4.3 Opportunities and challenges for Viet Nam - Opportunities Firstly, skilled labour mobility will create a cooperative and competitive environment which is healthy but fierce Secondly, the competition between Viet Nam and other countries in the region in the supply of high quality labor resources is increasing, requiring the quality of education and training to be significantly improved towards the achievement of standards of the world and the region in order to strengthen qualifications recognition between Viet Nam and other countries Thirdly,Viet Nam will have to face issues of population aging in the coming years Forthly,the Industrial Revolution 4.0 with the increasing participation of robots will have immediate impacts on industries and areas which are labor and resource intensive, the majority of which are thosehaving a high concentration of unskilled, female workers and will have a negative impact on the labor force; industries that use cheap and low skilled labor will lose their competitive advantage Fifthly,foreign language ability (English) and professional working style of the majority of Vietnamese workers Sixthly, thenational qualification standards system in Viet Nam is in the process of moving towards the region‟s and the world‟s There is no compatibility between professional skills standards of Viet Nam and other countries in the region, leaving significant impacts on the mobility of skilled workers 4.4 Viet Nam’s position on its skilled labour mobility in ASEAN Firstly,the goal of participating in Viet Nam's skilled labor migration in the ASEAN Community should first be linked to a strong and comprehensive transformation of the wide growth model (mainly based on increased investment, exploitation of advantages of cheap resources and labor) to a model of intensive growth with the main motivation of increased labor productivity, production efficiency and competitiveness of economic sectors 20 Secondly,it is necessary to strengthen skills of workers inside the country, minimizing losses of workers or number of workers who lose jobs Viet Nam need to have suitable and effective policies to behave smartly to the situation of "brain drain: minimize the losses caused by "brain drain"; promoting the spread of benefits brought about by skilled labor mobility Thirdly,it is necessary to develop and achieve a number of concrete objectives of skilled labour mobility in the ASEAN community both in the economic and socio-cultural sectors Forthly,Viet Nam‟s education and training system need to be equipped with knowledge and skills so that Vietnamese citizens can become ASEAN citizens, serving for a modern economy focusing on growth, competitiveness and equality The government of Viet Nam need to focus its investment on its education and training system and human resource development to prepare for the w+orkers for ASEAN standards 4.5 Solutions for Vietnamese skilled labour mobility in ASEAN - Actively participate in the movement of skilled labor in the ASEAN Community through innovation of the growth model and institutional accomplishment (Innovation of the growth Actively participate in the movement of skilled labor in the ASEAN Community through innovation of the growth model and institutional accomplishment (Innovation model growth in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0; perfecting the institutions and policies for socio-economic and labor marketdevelopment) - Strengthening the capacity of mobility management:accomplishing regulations and their implementation; Managing and protecting the rights of workers working abroad; Attract skilled workers back to the country after working abroad - Improving human resources quality:  Human resources development and education – training policies;  Moderningzing the teaching and learning of English in the education system;  Policies towards training institutions and performance of the schools;  Cooperation between schools and enterprises and the role of enterprises in training;  Development of an international comparative human resource quality management standard system;  Strengthening the dynamism, adaptability and flexibility of Vietnamese skilled workers - Improving the operational efficiency of support services systems such as: Developing and operating a migration statistics system to improve policies and management of migrant workers; Improving the quality of the labour market 21 forecasting and information analysis system inside the country and withinASEAN; Enhancing the capacity of national, regional and local employment service centers to well perform the function of providing migration support services; connecting and sharing information between employees and enterprises, domestic training institutions and enterprises abroad in occupations in the AEC - Promoting and strengthening cooperation between Viet Nam and ASEAN countries  Promoting early access to the labour markets of occupation groups/ fields under MRAs; at the same time, applying additional measures to recognition  Promoting access to quality information with regard to procedures and recognition results  Promoting the recognition of foreign migrant workers‟ qualifications as soon as possible  Promoting access to high professional occupations of the ASEAN labour market through “positive practice”  Continuous and effective participation of the private sector is needed 4.6 Priority activities recommended The PhD student recommends a number of priority activities to promote skilled labour mobility under MRAs as follows: - Accomplish and publish the national skills standards set based on occupations under MRAs; - Establish the national occupation council, first focusing on occupation groups in the MRAs; - Establish the national occupation certification, first focusing on occupation groups in the MRAs; - Establish the AQRF Committee/ Office; - Disseminate information on MRAs and the sets of skills standards of the occupation groups; - Propose for adoption of a policy to support skilled labour mobility to work in ASEAN countries; - Review, supplement and accomplish legal documents on management and facilitation of skilled labour movement; - Develop the system of national standard training curricula and materials; - Build capacity of national standard skilled labour training institutions in compatibility with ASEAN standards; - Develop database and establish the network of skilled labour mobility management Conclusion of Chapter Chapter of the thesis has elaborated on the context, opportunities and challenges, as well as scenarios of skilled labour mobility in the ASEAN Community, 2018 – 2025, presenting views and proposing basic solutions for 22 Vietnamese skilled labour mobility in the ASEAN Community The Chapter has analysed the context of globalisation, impacts of IR 4.0, international labour mobility and the idea of modernizing the growth model of active labour market development up to the year 2025, particularly high quality labour market, extending options and Vietnamese skilled labour mobility in the ASEAN Community In this Chapter, the PhD student has proposed groups of solutions for Vietnamese skilled labour mobility in the ASEAN Community, focusing on:modernizing growth model and accomplishing institutional reforms and policies; strengthening effectiveness of state management; improving the quality of human resources and dynamism, flexibility of Vietnamese workers; strengthening effectiveness of the system to provide support services and promote cooperation between Viet Nam and ASEAN member countries in skilled labour mobility - CONCLUSIONS The study on skilled labour mobility in the context of ASEAN integration, a PhD thesis of the student has achieved the following contents: Providing an overview of studies inside and outside the country, coming up with research gaps, developing research questions and hypothesis, and proposing research log-frame In theory, the thesis has systematized and clarified the theories of labor mobility, which have elaborated ona number of basic concepts, theories mainly related to the movement of skilled labor and the criteria for assessing the movement of skilled labor in the regional economic sector, which serves as a tool for the study of the topic The issue of mobility and the ability to move skilled workers in the AEC is not a separate issue but must be in the overall development strategy of the national labor market Therefore, the topic has clearly analyzed the theoretical aspects of labor mobility such as theories/ doctrines on migration, labor mobility, modes of movement, mechanisms and roles of stakeholders related to the movement of labor, the management of the migration process as well as factors affecting this mobilityissue The core issue of the research is to study the current situation of skilled labor mobility in the ASEAN labor market, including both competitiveness and the ability to participate in the movement of Vietnamese skilled labor in the ASEAN Community Therefore, the PhD student analyzed the demand for skilled labor in ASEAN, the ability of Viet Nam to supply labor on the basis of the capacity of its own skilled workers (including knowledge, skills and attitudes) ) and impact factors, especially on the ASEAN and Viet Nam's legal framework, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of mobility management In order to assess the status of workers„ participation in labor mobility in occupations in the AEC, the PhD student focuses on analyzing the provisions of the AEC as well as the regional commitments related to labor mobility in occupations, compared with relevant 23 regulations and the management capacity of Vietnam Based on these analyzes, the PhDstudent has assessed the aspects as well as the limitations and causes of limitations in the movement of skilled labor of Viet Nam in ASEAN Based on an analysis of the new context of ASEAN integration, assessing the opportunities, challenges and possible scenarios in the coming period of the skilled labor mobility in the ASEAN Community, the PhD student proposed four basic views They are: strong and comprehensive transformation of the wide growth model (mainly based on increasing investment, exploiting advantages of cheap resources and labor) to a model of intensive growth with the main motivations of increasing labor productivity, production efficiency, competitiveness of economic sectors; smartdealing with the status of "brain drain", promoting the spread of benefits brought about by skilled workers; setting out and achievinga number of specific objectives of participating in skilled labor mobility in the ASEAN Community in terms of economy and socio-culture; Vietnam's education and training system should equip Vietnamese citizenswith knowledge and skills to become ASEAN citizens to serve a modern economy focused on growth, competition and equality The PhD student has proposed solutions to enhance the ability of Vietnamese workers to participate in labor mobility in occupational groups in the context of AEC integration Five groups of solutions with many specific contents and measures are proposed not only as a separate solution for skilled workers but also related general solutions to enhance mobility of Vietnamese workers in general.The PhDstudent also proposed specific implementation recommendations for vocational groups to promote ASEAN labor mobility Despite great efforts, as this is a complex issue, the content and structure of the study still possesses shortcomings The PhD student found that the biggest limitation of the thesis was not to assess the positive and negative impacts of Viet Nam‟s participating in the movement o skilled labor in the ASEAN Community, the economic development of some industries and changes in supply and demand as well as connections in the labor market The PhD student intends to continue to analyze and evaluate these issues in the coming studies 24 ... skilled workers in ASEAN according to and in compliance with the Vietnamese and other ASEAN Members‟ legislations The Thesis does not cover the subjects under the coverage of the ASEAN Agreements... situation of the mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers in ASEAN Community Chapter 4: Points of views and solutions for mobility of Vietnamese skilled workers of Viet Nam in ASEAN Community CHAPTER OVERVIEW... general Studies on labor mobility in the ASEAN Community are quite various and continuous from before the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community so far, from an overview of ASEAN studies to