Vietnam is now in dire need of competent electronic engineers for the smartphone manufacturing sector, amid efforts to localize by multinationals, even though competitive remuneration is offered to them.

Data on the demand for manpower in the Vietnamese market in the first quarter of 2015 released by management consulting firm Navigos Search showed the need to recruit engineers for the smartphone manufacturing sector accounted for 14 percent of the total.

In the first week of this month, recruitment needs for electronics and smartphone production made up 21 percent of the total recruitment requirements.

General technical engineers – and electronic engineers in particular – are now highly sought after because many leading foreign manufacturers of smartphones have based their plants in Vietnam, according to Navigos Search.

Those manufacturers, like Samsung, LG, and Microsoft, are not only determined to boost the localization of material and part production but they also want to localize human resources.

Employers are now offering attractive salaries to lure electronic engineers, especially when it comes to management positions in that manufacturing sector, the firm said. 

Nguyen Thi Van Anh, CEO of Navigos Search, said that her company cannot find enough candidates to recommend to their clients though the current demand for electronic engineers and managerial positions in this sector are huge.

"Employers ask us to find those who can meet the requirements of the immediate work but experienced candidates are hard to come by,” Anh added. 

Despite high demand and attractive income, qualified and skilled electronic engineers are extremely difficult to be found at the moment, the head of a firm operating in the field told news website VnEconomy.

"In fact, we find that very few people graduating in electronic engineering in Vietnam meet our requirements, so we are always in dire need of the manpower for this industry," he said.

Most of the engineers trained in Vietnamese schools today are lacking in knowledge, soft skills, and creativity, plus they are very passive, he added.

“So they are by no means able to be a match for employers.”

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