Government Project 1956 on vocational training for rural workers through 2020 is the biggest ever project targeting rural workers.

Over the past years, the Party and State have developed policies aimed at boosting agriculture and rural development by providing more job opportunities for rural workers. However, there is still a big difference in living standards between urban and rural areas. For this reason, the Government has issued Decision No 1956 approving a project (known as Project 1956) on vocational training for rural workers.

The project focuses on training cadres at communal level and rural workers in both the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, and raising the quality and efficiency of vocational training to generate jobs and increase income for rural workers. This has contributed to labour and economic restructuring which helps boost the industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture.

The project aims to provide vocational training for around 1 million rural workers and 100,000 communal cadres each year. It is expected that nearly 10 million rural workers and 1 million communal cadres will be trained when the project ends in 2020.

The State has allocated approximately VND26,000 billion from its budget to carry out the project.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) have agreed to make a list of 180 agricultural sectors for which training will be provided at primary levels for rural workers and create vocational training materials for 2010 for 25 popular occupations in three regions across the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, Head of the National Steering Board for Vocational Training, said the project has set a target to train 1 million rural workers per year over the next ten years. Consequently, it is essential to make drastic changes in labour training and restructuring in rural areas to provide human resources for the process of national industrialisation and modernisation.

According to the MoLISA, by the end of June this year, 44 centrally-run provinces and cities have adopted survey projects and five other provinces and cities finalised their surveys on their vocational training needs.

Nguyen Thi Hang, Director of the Thai Nguyen provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said her province plans to allocate investment capital to vocational training centres.

The provincial Party Committee has asked Party organisations at all levels to guide vocational training for rural workers. Thai Nguyen has held a conference to implement Project 1956 and basically finalised a survey on its vocational training needs. The province has selected three key districts to carry out the project and the department has estimated the expenses for the project to submit to the provincial Department of Finance. In addition, Thai Nguyen has planned to provide money for vocational training centres to help them purchase material and facilities under the project, said Hang.

Mai Xuan Tri, Deputy Director of the Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs pointed out three major difficulties in implementing the project. First, workers in remote and mountainous areas are finding it difficult to choose an occupation to learn. Second, workers in coastal areas also face difficulties arranging time for vocational learning. Third, many rural workers are still hesitant and wondering whether they will be able to find a suitable job after training.

Vu Dinh Khang, Director of Hai Phong City\'s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said Hai Phong has completed the survey in the two key districts of Vinh Bao and Hai Duong. Vinh Bao is an agricultural district so its economy is restructured slowly while An Duong has experienced rapid urbanisation and has some major industrial parks.

" We will try our best to carry out Project 1956 effectively in these two districts as a pilot model. The model will be replicated in other districts in the near future.”, Khang said.

Nguyen Thi Nham, Chairwoman of the Phuoc Buu Township Farmers\' Association in Xuyen Moc district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province said that currently, most of the rural workers in Phuoc Buu Township are unskilled. Workers aged over 40 are particularly keen on vocational training despite their low educational level. Phuoc Buu has around 600 agricultural workers needing vocational training but many do not want to learn and do new jobs far from home. The preferential credit loan programme for rural workers in Project 1956 will satisfy only those who have just finished vocational training and want to do agricultural jobs.

Pham Thi Hang, Head of the Section of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province, underlined the importance of helping workers change their conception of finding jobs after vocational training through disseminating of information. Vocational training centres should introduce jobs with stable incomes. If attention is paid to propaganda activities, vocational training and learning under the project will be implemented more efficiently, Hang noted.