On 24th March, in campus Sankt Augustin of University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, the hybrid symposium ‘ Sustainable Labour Migration’ was held with the participation of stakeholders from countries of Germany, Georgia, Kosovo and Vietnam.
This event is under the research project “Sustainable and socially acceptable labour migration management” supported by Programme Migration & Diaspora (PMD)/Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The research project has been implemented by the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg from December 2020 to August 2022. This research addresses the perception of “sustainable labor migration” among relevant stakeholders in three country studies on transnational labour migration partnerships in Georgia, Kosovo and Vietnam.
The symposium offered an opportunity to present the first findings, recommendations and upcoming plans of the research team. Three parallel countries (Georgia, Kosovo and Viet Nam) workshops were held to discuss different country-specific topics in the field of labor migration. The country workshop in Viet Nam included representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), German Embassy in Viet Nam, Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, Department of Overseas Labour, Viet Nam Association of Manpower Supply, LILAMA 2 International Technology College and National Economics University (NEU).
In his keynotes, Dr. Bui Sy Tuan, Deputy Chief of Office of MOLISA, mentioned that labour migration was a crucial topic in the process of socio-economic development. Traditionally, in 1980s, there was strong cooperation among the governments of Germany and Vietnamese in the topic. He stated ‘We highly appreciated the efforts of the German government to facilitate and enhance transnational labour migration such as the promulgation of the Skilled Immigration Act in March 2020. Vietnam expects that the cooperation among the two governments in labor migration or vocational training and education integrated with labor migration is further strengthened’.
As a research partner in Vietnam, NEU’s first findings from the literature review and expert interviews demonstrate the importance of vocational training and labor migration for Vietnam’s development strategy. Further interviews with relevant stakeholders are still going to be conducted in April 2022.
