Labour ministry aims to find jobs for more than 392,000 people next year

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare hopes to provide job training and placements for at least 392,000 young people across the country in the coming year.
The goal is to place more people in jobs, with the expectation that about 15,000 people will enter a profession.
In addition, some 1,700 people will take job skill tests in line with national skills standards under the national agenda for 2021-2025.
The figures were announced on Friday by the Director General of the ministry’s Department of Labour Skill Development, Ms Anousone Khamsingsavath.

Migrant workers on a construction site.

She was speaking at a workshop to discuss a programme to reduce the vulnerability of returnee migrant workers by providing them with links to employment opportunities and integration into local economic development.
The ministry will continue to try to create more jobs for young people both in urban and rural areas, with the goal of finding jobs for 355,620 people who are currently unemployed.
Ms Anousone said the purpose of the workshop was to hear a report on the closure of a programme set up with the International Labour Organisation and Japan (ILO-Japan Partnership Programme) to create job opportunities for migrant workers returning to Laos because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ministry partnered with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through the ILO offices responsible for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos under the ILO-Japan Partnership Programme on the re-entry of migrant workers and their integration into local economic development in response to the Covid pandemic, Ms Anousone said.
For several years, the ministry has helped returning migrant workers, entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
This has been done by encouraging people to participate in activities that generate income through paid work or self-employment.
The ILO Project team mapped demand and supply in labour markets in   target provinces, including the demand and supply of skills, and supported skill development in these provinces.
One of the main aims of the project was to determine the labour requirements of each area and assess the availability of workers.
The report delivered at the workshop summarised the implementation of project activities.
The project provided equipment for job placement and skill development to help improve the infrastructure around job placement and skill development at the central and local levels.
Project staff also worked to strengthen access to job placement services, and improve the skills of Lao workers and those working in various businesses in the public and private sectors.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
 (Latest Update May 31, 2023)