VietNamNet Bridge – With the period before Tet usually seeing demand for temporary workers spike, job centres have their busiest time of the year, acting as intermediaries between mainly students and employers.

Students look for part-time jobs in the run-up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays. The demand for temporary workers is increasing, but students are warned about fraudulent practices at some employment agencies. (Photo: VNS)

Students fit the bill best since the jobs are mostly temporary.

For their part, the students are happy to earn a little extra that will enable them to travel home or pay tuition and also gain valuable work experience.

They call this period the season for making money.

"I have a temporary job every Tet," Tran Thi Yen, a second-year student at the HCM City University of Industry, said, adding the money she earns from doing seasonal jobs makes her financially less dependent on her parents.

Employment agencies in Ha Noi and HCM City are especially busy ahead of Tet, and this year demand seems to be unusually high.

Demand for workers is about 20 per cent higher last year, according to Nguyen Trong Hoang of the HCM City Students Support Centre and Van Anh of the Ha Noi-based October-20 Job Agency.

Anh added that wages are also 20-30 per cent higher as a result of inflation.

Most of the demand is from service establishments like supermarkets, restaurants, and amusement centres.

"A temporary worker at a supermarket or restaurant in HCM City can hope to earn VND1.5 million-2 million (US$75-100) during the pre-Tet period," Hoang said.

The HCM City Students Support Centre has introduced more than 1,200 temporary jobs to students so far this season and expects that number to rise to 3,500.

Big C, the French-owned supermarket chain, is looking for 250 workers for both its Ha Noi and HCM City outlets, while the Ha Noi-based Media Mart is recruiting for free 200 students to work in sales and delivery.

However, it is not a free ride for everyone.

Despite the rising demand, higher wages, and offers for increasingly diverse work, many do not find suitable or interesting jobs that also pay well.

"After looking for a week, both online and by visiting job centres, I have still not found the job I want," My Phung, a student at the HCM City University of Medicine, said.

Since she does not have a motorbike, the young woman is looking for a job that does not require her to travel out of the city. But the jobs she has liked so far require what she is not qualified for. "Most of them require people who know foreign languages, to work full time, or even to be good-looking," she added.

One of the reasons for employers pitching their demands high is that they want to keep the seasonal workers for good, deputy head of HCM City Centre for Labour Market Information and Human Resource Demand Forecast, Tran Anh Tuan, explained.

A number of direct marketing companies have been calling students for job interviews only to try and convince them to buy their products.

Some employment agencies have opened just to take advantage of the seasonal demand and are not above board. They collect fees from the students only to offer them impossible jobs.

People close to the industry are advising students to only look for jobs through reputed agencies.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News