Business

ILO, Netherland To Boost Skills In Vietnam’s Garment Sector

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has signed an agreement with the Government of the Netherlands for a new project that will anticipate and address future skills needs in the garment sector in Vietnam. Vietnam’s textiles and garment industry employs about 2.7 million people, of which a vast majority are women, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The latest report from the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association estimated that the textiles and garment industry will reach its target of US$ 39 billion in export revenue this year, equal to the 2019 figure. As part of the new two-year project starting in January 2022, the ILO will support the Vietnam government, employers’ and workers’ organisations to understand what skills the industry and its workers will need now and in the future. The project will focus on those at highest risk of losing their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and the increased automation and digitalisation in the industries. This is an important step towards building a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable industry with decent work opportunities for more women and men. The Netherlands believes that a sustainable textile value chain is a precondition for a healthy recovery from the impact of Covid-19. The new project is guided by the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (2019) , the ILO Global Call to Action for a Human-Centred Recovery (2021) and the recent International Labour Conference resolution concerning skills and lifelong learning. It will apply lessons learned from similar ILO garment sector skills anticipation projects in the garment sector in Brazil, Ethiopia, Jordan and Peru, and it will build on the achievements of past ILO skills development programmes in Vietnam. The project will be implemented in close collaboration with the IFC-ILO Better Work Vietnam programme, and the findings and achievements in Vietnam will be shared with other Member States of the ILO through the creation of a regional knowledge platform on future skills needs in textiles and garments in Asia and the Pacific.