Bird nest making

By Bich Quyen – Translated by Kim Khanh

Dr. Jaipal Tuttle (center) performs on the stage

Smitten by the country, he decided to stay on, learn the language and delve into the quintessential encapsulation of Vietnamese culture – The Tale of Kieu (Truyện Kiều). Researching the literary classic is a far cry from his life as an academic in the United States, but Tuttle has not looked back.

Dr. Jaipal Tuttle has made Vietnam his home for the last 23 years

His interest in the epic, written in verse, was piqued when he found that all the Vietnamese that he had learnt till then was not enough to read and understand it, because it had been written in a language and script no longer in vogue. This set Tuttle on researching the classic for at least 15 years and his passion for Vietnamese culture has only deepened since.

“Con Sáo,” as he is fondly known in Vietnam now, has developed a deep understanding of Vietnamese history and passion for several art forms including the operatic Cải Lương and Vọng Cổ , another southern Vietnamese music tradition.

Over the decades he has spent in Vietnam, “Con Sáo” has become a researcher, a musician, a model and a performer. He likes to sing anytime and anywhere, in music videos, stage performances, or connecting with people at “sing together” cafes in the Mekong Delta. His expanding interests include the works of artists like Tuấn Ngọc, Minh Cảnh, Vũ Linh, and Út Trà Ôn.

His undimmed passion for all things Vietnamese currently has him spend four hours a week on learning the correct Vietnamese pronunciation and accent of the people in the Mekong Delta region. He is also reading and learning more about Cải Lương, listening to famous artists to improve his pronunciation and histrionic skills.

Tuttle also spends time visiting schools, meeting artists and poets. In the future, he hopes to take his immersion in Vietnamese culture to the next level. He wants to write some short excerpts of Vọng Cổ on his own and also make videos showcasing his distinct style.

My Phung

Production inside a firm in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

According to GSO Deputy Director General Nguyen Trung Tien, results of the census are part of the foundation for the compilation of targets on gross domestic product (GDP), gross regional domestic product (GRDP), and many other statistical indicators.

Objectives of the census are production and business enterprises and cooperatives; production and business establishments under administrative agencies and productive agencies; branches and representative offices of foreign enterprises and foreign non-governmental organisations; religious and belief establishments; and individual non-agricultural, fishery and forestry business and production establishments.

The census will collect information about production and business types; forms of operation, labour and labourers’ income, production and business outcomes and costs, information technology application, and access to loans and international economic integration.

The census aims to serve the assessment of the country’s socio-economic development, thus helping the Party and State with making development plans and policies.

The preliminary data will be released in December 2021, while the official results are expected to be announced in January 2022.

Results of the 2017 Economic Census showed that there were more than 5.86 million economic units in the country as of July 1, 2017, including over 517,900 enterprises, which employed 26.9 million employees and more than 14 million labourers respectively, up 13.7 percent and 18.6 percent as compared to 2012.

The census also revealed several shortcomings of the local enterprises, including employment downsizing and ineffective application of information technology at State-owned agencies./. VNA

A company in the southern province of Binh Duong advertises job openings. Photo laodong.vn

Companies in the city’s industrial parks and export processing zones need around 12,000 workers, including 2,540 with a university degree, according to the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).

Another 4,700 jobs are available for applicants with college and vocational education, and the rest are for manual workers, Hung Hua Quoc Hung, head of HEPZA, said.

The textile and footwear sectors have the largest demand, he added.

The HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information said the city overall is expected to need 30,000 workers after the Tet holiday.

Do Thanh Van, deputy director of the centre, said trade, services, textile and footwear, food processing, logistics, IT, plastics, and chemicals are among the industries with the highest recruitment demand.

PouYuen Việt Nam Co. Ltd in Tan Binh District, one of the companies with the largest demand, needs more than 2,000 workers for various positions such as IT technicians, office and purchase staff, secretaries, quality management staff, and manual workers.

Le Minh Tan, director of the city Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, said all businesses have resumed operations after Tet with around 96 per cent of workers returning to work.

In Binh Duong Province, a manufacturing hub, more than 95 per cent of workers have returned, according to its Federation of Labour.

The federation also said 916 enterprises require 95,983 workers after Tet.

Dong Nai Province, another manufacturing hub, too needs thousands of workers to meet the expected increase in production this year.

Cao Duy Thai, head of the wage office at the province Department of Labour, Invalid, and Social Affairs, said the worker turnover rate during Tet this year is unusually low since more and more enterprises are offering benefits to retain workers, making it a tough to hire new staff.

Positive hiring outlook

According to ManpowerGroup Vietnam’s 2021 Employment Outlook survey, employers in various industries are expecting hiring to recover and grow in the first half of 2021 despite the continuing pandemic.

The survey polled 442 human resources and talent acquisition executives in 16 industries.

While 36.4 per cent said their businesses were slightly impacted by the pandemic, nearly 50 per cent said they still operate normally.

Some 56 per cent anticipated a payroll expansion while 37 per cent said they would maintain the headcount.

Only 6.6 per cent plan to lay off workers.

Two-thirds expect hiring to increase within the next three months, and 22 per cent foresee an expansion in the next six months.

The biggest recruitment plans in the period are in manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and trading, and transport and logistics.

The construction sector saw a revival thanks to economic growth, and accounts for a fifth of all companies planning to hire, the same as manufacturing.

Nguyen Thu Trang, country head of permanent recruitment, executive search and consulting services at ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said: “Thanks to the effective control measurements and the strong anti-epidemic compliance of the Vietnamese, the economy is showing signs of positive recovery. In addition, foreign investment continues to flow into Vietnam, creating more business and job opportunities.  VNS

The most common way for international tourists to get to Vietnam is by plane.

The country currently has 22 conveniently-located airports, 11 of which offer international services.

The three main gateways are Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang — located in northern, southern, and central Vietnam, respectively.

The other eight international airports include Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, Cat Bi in Hai Phong City, Vinh in Nghe An Province, Phu Bai in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa Province, Phu Quoc on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, Lien Khuong in Lam Dong Province, and Can Tho in Can Tho City.

Most Asian countries have direct flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. Travelers can also fly directly into Da Nang from destinations around the region, according to the VNAT.

Travelers from neighboring countries, including China, Laos, and Cambodia, can also enter Vietnam by train or bus. However, they are required to prepare their visa beforehand, as there are no visas on arrival at land crossings within Vietnam.

In addition, a boat trip from Cambodia through the Mekong Delta makes for a scenic entry into southern Vietnam.

Visitors can book such a trip from tour agencies in Phnom Penh and Vietnam.

No matter by which way visitors arrive in Vietnam, they are assured of a unique and unforgettable experience.

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