Nestlé Vietnam owns four factories and two distribution centres with a total investment of more than $730 million. The company has 2,200 full-time employees and creates 10,000 more informal jobs for locals from its supply chain.

Household names play their part for creation of jobs, illustration photo

Khuat Quang Hung, its head of Corporate Affairs, said that leaders are concerned about long-term commitments to promote sustainable development of the local market, including the sustainability of human resources.

“I always wonder after foreign businesses investing in Vietnam leave, what will be left? Besides technology transfer, we also need a highly qualified workforce with management capacity,” Hung said.

Human resource training has been one of the top priorities for Nestlé Vietnam for many years. The company regularly organises talent training programmes, creating opportunities for final year students of universities to enter Nestlé Vietnam for internships.

In addition, Nestlé also sends employees in middle management positions to other international markets to learn, absorb technology, and improve management capacity, then bring them back to Vietnam to take on key leadership positions.

“Employees are the most valuable asset. We strive to motivate all employees and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute, grow, and get promoted in the long term,” Hung added.

In 2022, the company invested $739,000 for training activities, training, and improving professional qualifications and skills for employees. Nestlé’s number of employees and contribution to the job market is continuing to increase after the company announced an additional investment of $130 million to double its processing capacity in Vietnam from the end of 2021.

Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for foreign investors as more and more large enterprises such as Pixel, Amazon, and Apple decide to expand production and move factories to Vietnam.

The relocation of factories and the expansion of investment activities of foreign-invested enterprises also help Vietnam’s labour market benefit by contributing to creating millions of additional job opportunities and improving the qualifications of local workers, of which Samsung is a typical example.

Samsung has officially invested in Vietnam since 2008, starting with a mobile phone factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh, then expanding investment to other localities including Thai Nguyen, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City with six factories, a research and development centre, and a legal entity for sales.

Choi Joo Ho, president of Samsung Vietnam, said that Samsung is responsible for about 20 per cent of Vietnam’s export turnover, creating quality jobs for about 300,000 workers directly and indirectly, and contributing to stabilising their daily lives. “Samsung’s success is Vietnam’s success,” Choi said. “After investing in Vietnam, we have fully fulfilled our commitments such as creating stable jobs, and developing with the Vietnamese people.”

According to Choi, Samsung is giving Vietnam a budget for social responsibility activities at the highest level among the countries it invests in. “Taking advantage of the characteristics of a global IT enterprise, we are implementing projects such as training science and technology, nurturing technological talents, and supporting learning for children in difficult circumstances,” he added.

Meanwhile, Japanese retailer AEON said that each successful shopping mall opened in Vietnam will create about 3,000 employment opportunities.

“AEON Group has determined that Vietnam is the second key market besides Japan to accelerate its investment activities,” said Furusawa Yasuyuki, who is an executive member of AEON Co., Ltd. in charge of Vietnam.

AEON opened its first shopping mall in Vietnam in 2014 and now boasts seven in the country, with a total number of employees here reaching about 8,000. The company wants to increase the number of shopping malls to 16 by 2025.

According to Furusawa, AEON is committed to providing a working environment where all Vietnamese staff have the chance to grow.

“All general merchandise store managers are local talents, and in the company’s board of directors, we also have talented Vietnamese people,” he said.