2,600 Workers Left Can Tho for Overseas Jobs in Ten Months

More than 2,600 workers from Can Tho City, Vietnam, left for contract jobs abroad in the first ten months of 2026, according to the Can Tho City Employment Service Center — and the number conceals a harder truth: the jobs that remain are getting measurably harder to win.

The figures mark steady demand in a labor-export channel that has long anchored household income in the Mekong Delta. Yet the center's own leadership frames the growth with a warning.

Ms. Tran Xuan Duyen, Deputy Director of the center, said job opportunities abroad "continue to be abundant," but recruitment requirements are rising and demand is shifting from unskilled labor toward skilled and technical workers — particularly in mechanical, electronics, nursing, and garment industries. Employers, she noted, now screen for discipline, industrial work ethic, and adaptability alongside foreign languages and vocational credentials.

What does a real offer look like?

Ms. Pham Ngoc Phuong Vy, from Tan An ward, was accepted into a food-processing job in Japan during an early-October 2026 recruitment drive. Her expected salary is roughly 32 million VND per month before deductions — a figure several times the typical regional wage in southern Vietnam. Her departure is scheduled for the end of February 2027.

The path there took months of preparation. Before the interview, the center coached her on communication and interpersonal skills. After selection, she enrolled in a roughly three-month Japanese language course and added physical training and group activities to prepare for the transition.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Tran of Long Tuyen Ward is earlier in the pipeline. Registered for electronic component assembly work in Japan through the International Investment, Finance and Communication Joint Stock Company, she reports struggling with the writing system — easily confused characters and vocabulary — and now practices writing, pronunciation, and contextual vocabulary daily, alongside studying Japanese work culture.

Their experience matches what the center sees at scale: a segment of workers still lack foreign-language communication skills and are unaccustomed to the high work intensity and strict disciplinary procedures of foreign enterprises. Cultural and living-environment differences compound the difficulty in the first months abroad.

Who pays, and who qualifies?

Two legal instruments now govern support. Under the Employment Law No. 74/2025/QH15 and Government Decree No. 338/2025/ND-CP, eligible workers can access loans to work abroad under contract, plus assistance with vocational training, language training, orientation education, and other stipulated expenses.

The center disseminates this through job fairs, employment events, "Job Cafe" counseling points, and online channels, while running short-term language and skills courses with reputable sending agencies covering host-country law, contracts, culture, financial management, health, and coping with stress away from family.

Beyond Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (China), Can Tho is exploring the Russian Federation and several European countries to diversify destination markets.

Ms. Duyen said the center will pursue orders with good income, benefits, and safe working environments, push digital transformation in counseling and registration, and — notably — connect returning workers to domestic jobs so they can deploy accumulated skills and capital at home.