Photo: Duc Thanh

In the working session between Chairwoman of Bac Ninh People’s Committee Nguyen Huong Giang and Goertek Group on September 12, the leader of Goertek reported on construction progress of its third plant located in Nam Son-Hap Linh Industrial Park.

According to Goertek, one of Apple’s largest acoustic products suppliers, the construction of this third facility is accelerating. To prepare for the operation, the corporation is continuously placing notices on the recruitment information on its website as well as at online job fairs.

The $300-million factory in Nam Son-Hap Linh Industrial Park, which will produce consumer electronics, communication equipment, and optical equipment, will go into operation in April 2024, with the total recruitment demand up to 50,000 people.

Foxconn and Luxshare ICT Vietnam have simplified recruitment procedures and offer competitive incomes to employ a large volume of employees.

Nguyet Ha, HR staff of Foxconn Quang Chau, said that the company planned to employ a large volume of workers from now to the end of the year with the monthly income of over VND10 million ($420).

Meanwhile, director of Bac Giang Employment Service Centre Nguyen Van Hue said that it had completed the recruitment of more than 10,000 unskilled workers for Luxshare ICT in August alone.

These companies are all vendors for Apple, which has finalised the relocation of 11 of its audio device production facilities to Vietnam, marking a significant shift in the company’s global supply chain strategy.

Nguyen Thang Vuong from the Europe-America Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said, “Along with this relocation, several prominent American corporations, such as Boeing, Google, and Walmart, have announced plans to extend their supplier networks and manufacturing bases in Vietnam following extensive research into the local investment environment.”

“Particularly noteworthy is the colossal shift by Samsung in relocating its entire mobile phone production line, predominantly to Vietnam and India. Remarkably, 60 per cent of Samsung’s global smartphone output is now manufactured in Vietnam,” Vuong said at an online forum on Vietnam’s role in the global supply chain on September 6.

According to Apple’s supplier list for fiscal year 2022, there are currently 26 suppliers with 28 factories in Vietnam servicing the tech giant’s electronics manufacturing needs. These factories are spread around 15 provinces, with the majority located in the north.

For Apple, this has materialised in three key manufacturing hubs in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Haiphong. This is also leading to a snowball effect, whereby greater investment in the manufacturing sector means bigger investment in surrounding infrastructure, facilitating smoother and easier transportation of goods.

The relocation and expansion also create a surge in recruiting workers to these factories. During July and August, many online job fairs were organised by employment service centres in the north, with the participation of nearly 200 employers and the recruitment demand of tens of thousands of positions. Which, monthly salaries for these job opportunities varying VND5-15 million ($200-600) depending on the positions and localities.

In late July, an online job fair connected nine northern cities and provinces, offering 40,000 jobs across various industries. Of the available positions, over 1,200 job vacancies were in Hanoi, primarily in the trade, transport, and education sectors. Meanwhile, other provinces, including Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Ninh Binh and Phu Tho, had significant job openings available, employing 17,500 workers, 8,400 workers, and over 3,000 workers, respectively.

The fair emphasised the need for manual workers, with over 18,200 positions seeking candidates with basic qualifications. Additionally, industries requiring intermediate and tertiary-level skills offered around 10,000 positions each. The electronics and textiles industries hired more than 21,600.