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Laos to take a further 7,000 foreign workers
Laos expects to accept a further 7,000 skilled foreign workers for employment in development projects, due to the shortage of homegrown skilled workers.
According to the 2011-2012 National Socio-Economic Development Plan, approved by the National Assembly last month, the government expects to authorise 7,000 foreign workers to provide expertise to state and private investment projects next fiscal year.
There are already several thousand foreign workers in Laos, some of whom are here without work permits.
Laos hopes to attract 23,000 billion kip (US$2.8 billion) in investment funding to secure GDP growth of 8.3 percent for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Between 50 and 60 percent of the investment is expected to come from the private sector with mining and hydropower the largest contributors.
It is believed this funding will have created 55,360 jobs in Laos by the end of the year.
Ministry of Planning and Investment officials said the increasing foreign investment in Laos is driving up the demand for foreign workers as Laos cannot provide sufficient labour to meet the demands of the growing mining and hydropower sectors.
According to Lane Xang Mineral Limited Sepon's HR Department Deputy Director General, Mr Khamnoi Channavong, the mining company faces difficulty recruiting Lao workers for specialist jobs, making it necessary to bring in foreign workers.
Other foreign-owned projects have been forced to import foreign workers because recruiters have discovered that most Lao graduates don't have the necessary skills.
The government has acknowledged difficulties in the supply of sufficiently skilled workers and managers and has, in response, announced plans to increase the education budget from 11 percent to 19 percent of the total state budget.
The Ministry of Education and Sports and Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare plan to train and supply over 44,000 new workers each year to meet the demands of state and private investment projects and business expansion over the next few years.
According to the 2011-2012 National Socio-Economic Development Plan, the agriculture sector will employ a further 37,576 workers next fiscal year.
Forecasts based on projects in the pipeline indicate that next fiscal year the agriculture and construction sectors will employ a further 14,054 workers while the service sector will take on 38,830 workers.
It is estimated that some 6,000 Lao workers will seek work in other countries next fiscal year, mostly in Thailand, where wages are higher.
Laos and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding on labour employment cooperation in 2002. There are nearly 100,000 Lao nationals working in Thailand, many of whom are now legalised after receiving work permits.
vientiane times
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