From Reactive Response to Proactive Workforce Readiness for New Investment Waves

FDI Connect Forum 2026 has not only opened a new phase of investment promotion, but has also put Bac Ninh to a serious test in workforce preparation. With the local labor supply currently meeting only about 30% of demand, the province’s challenge is no longer about filling gaps as they arise, but about proactively building a foundation for the next development cycle. On this issue, our reporter interviewed Tran Van Ha, Deputy Director of the Bac Ninh Department of Home Affairs.

The new wave of investment is expected to place significant pressure on Bac Ninh’s labor market. How is the province approaching this challenge at scale?

Bac Ninh currently has more than 26,000 active enterprises, with over 820,000 workers in the business sector. By 2030, labor demand in this sector is projected to reach around 1.4 million workers. This means businesses will need to recruit an additional 120,000 to 150,000 workers each year, while the local supply currently meets only about 30% of demand.

Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs Tran Van Ha (white shirt, center) meets with students and shares information on local enterprises’ demand for high-quality talent

This shows that Bac Ninh’s workforce challenge is no longer an isolated recruitment issue for individual enterprises, but a structural issue in the development process. Without early preparation, the labor market could become fragmented and unstable.

Does this mean Bac Ninh must change its approach?

We have determined that we cannot continue with a “reactive response” mindset, where the province responds only when businesses make requests. The current context requires a shift to “proactive preparation,” meaning earlier forecasting, earlier preparation, and managing the labor market through data, training, and policy tools.

Bac Ninh does not pursue a path where enterprises compete by drawing short-term labor from one another. The province’s goal is to build a more transparent labor supply system with stronger forecasting capacity and greater resilience to new investment waves.

What policies are being used to put this direction into practice?

First is Plan 118/KH-UBND, which aims to develop Bac Ninh’s labor market in a modern, efficient, transparent, and sustainable direction. The plan sets specific targets such as reducing the urban unemployment rate to below 1.8%; increasing the share of trained workers to 90%, of which 42% will hold degrees or certificates; and connecting jobs for around 35,000 workers each year through job fairs.

Alongside this is Resolution 113/2025/NQ-HDND, which focuses on supporting vocational training and workforce development for the semiconductor industry, artificial intelligence, and digital technology during the 2025–2030 period. In my view, this is a clear step for Bac Ninh: not only ensuring sufficient labor in terms of quantity, but also preparing a high-quality workforce for key technology sectors and next-generation supply chains.

In the coming period, retaining investors is not only about maintaining production sites or offering cost incentives, but also about maintaining confidence that the locality can provide the workforce needed for the next production cycle.

In reality, workers stay not only for jobs, but also for living conditions. How is the province addressing this issue?

We see this clearly. A sustainable labor market cannot be built solely on job postings. To retain workers, especially those from other provinces, there must be supporting social infrastructure, from housing, childcare facilities, and schools to essential services.

Therefore, among our solutions, the development of “satellite” social infrastructure is carried out alongside training and job matching. This approach helps reduce labor turnover, strengthen workers’ attachment to the locality, and in turn provide businesses with a more stable workforce. Ultimately, a strong labor market is not only one where workers can be recruited, but also one where they can be retained.

Within this overall picture, what role does the Employment Service Center play?

We have determined that the Employment Service Center cannot remain limited to organizing traditional job fairs. It must become an information hub for the labor market, with the ability to collect, update, analyze, and forecast labor supply and demand on a regular and timely basis.

Based on this direction, we have instructed the center to focus on three main pillars: standardizing labor data; improving the quality of both in-person and online job fairs; and expanding links with enterprises, employment service centers in other provinces, and universities and colleges to better capture recruitment demand and labor supply at different times.

A notable change is that Bac Ninh is shifting toward a data- and forecast-driven approach. When labor supply and demand data are updated regularly, policy recommendations become more practical, from attracting workers and supporting reskilling to solutions for stabilizing livelihoods and retaining the workforce.

What are your expectations for the coming period?

Bac Ninh must build a labor market that is more transparent, modern, and proactive. With data, training, connectivity, and policies to retain workers in place, the province will not only meet immediate recruitment needs, but also build a long-term foundation to strengthen investor confidence.

A locality that aims to go far with new capital flows cannot rely only on its ability to attract projects; it must also be able to prepare its workforce.

Thank you very much!

Duc Binh (Vietnam Business Forum)