VietNamNet Bridge - According to the latest Economic Insight Report by ICAEW, Vietnam is taking significant steps on the development path towards a commodity production economy thanks to the impressive growth of labor productivity, which was estimated to be 184% in the period from 1991 to 2012, and an increase in a skilled labor force.

Mr. Charles Davis, Economic Advisor of ICAEW, said this figure was even higher than those of Singapore and Malaysia.

A growing number of multinational corporations in the field of technology are moving their manufacturing operations to Vietnam.

According to Davis, low basic cost is the key factor for Vietnam to ensure stability for investment flows.

As development progresses, the skills of the workforce will be improved and the cost will start rising. Therefore, the next step that Vietnam should be directed to is proceeding to higher levels of the value chain, developing the skills needed as engineers, scientists and programmers.

Mark Billington, Director of ICAEW Southeast Asia, said: "In Southeast Asia, Vietnam has the highest growth rates of skilled and unskilled labor in 2001 and 2012, at 76%.”

For other countries in Southeast Asia, Singapore is looking for solutions to expand the labor force, while Malaysia and the Philippines are facing a brain drain. It is estimated that about 10% of the population of the Philippines work abroad, and 295,000 of 4.3 million skilled workers left Malaysia in 2012.

According to Billington, increased investment for development and internationalization of the areas in which employees is leaving is necessary to retain talent. Other challenges are the low proportion of women participating in the labor force and unregistered labor activities.

Tri Thuc Tre