The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) will kick off construction on a VND631 billion ($30.22 million) manpower training center funded by Middle East nations in the central province of Thanh Hoa in the second quarter of 2011. Located in Quang Tam commune, the facility will help train laborers who will be sent to the Middle East countries, which are in high need of Vietnamese workers, especially those in mechanical engineering, construction and food processing industries, the Tien Phong newspaper reported Feb 28. The locality is speeding up site clearance so that the work would start as scheduled, it added. Currently, there are more than 21,000 Vietnam workers in the Middle East, including 10,000 in Qatar, 9,000 in the United Arab Emirates, and some 2,000 in Arab Saudi. The average monthly salary of an unskilled worker in the Middle East is around $300, and a skilled worker can earn $600. The Southeast Asia country aims to send 87,000 workers abroad in 2011, up 2.35% over last year’s figure. (Tien Phong – Pioneer Feb 28 p15)
