VietNamNet Bridge – A Navigos Search report entitled Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Mid-level and Senior Employees for Foreign Firms in Vietnam published on November 3 has revealed that even though local employees are considered hard-working, they have trouble with English.

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The report is part of a series of surveys conducted in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Japan by the En World Group, of which Navigos Search is a member.

According to the survey, 41% of firms couldn't recruit enough local employees to fill middle and high-ranking positions in the last 12 months and only 9% were satisfied with the employees' English skills.

In Thailand and Singapore, 52% and 53% also say it was difficult to recruit sufficient personnel respectively.

English remains a huge barrier for employees in Vietnam. 31% of firms operating in Vietnam include English as top three important factors when recruiting employees. This rate is much higher compared to Singapore's 2%, where English skills are considered the norm.

English will be even more important when the ASEAN Economic Community takes effect on January 1 2016 which allows the free flow of workers in eight countries.

Aside from English, local employees are also said to lack sufficient leadership skills. Only 9% were satisfied with leadership skill of middle and high-ranking local personnel. This was the worst ranked skill, falling behind creativity and loyalty.

However, Vietnamese employees are highly-regarded for being quick-learners, hard-working and having good communication skills.

Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Managing Director of Navigos Search, said firms should continue developing more programmes to engage their employees.

DTriNews