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Wednesday, April 30, 2025
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Laos Expands Vocational Training to Curb Labor Shortage

This Week

The Lao government will introduce new vocational education programs in the 2024–2025 academic year as part of efforts to modernize education and address labor shortages through improved human resource development.

To ensure that the national workforce is skilled across various sectors and to retain talented individuals within the country, the Ministry of Education and Sports has collaborated with several private companies and vocational colleges to implement new 20 courses at the intermediate and higher levels.

This initiative follows the increasing number of Lao workers seeking employment abroad. 

In the first quarter of this year, over 76,000 Lao workers were employed abroad, including in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. 

In 2024, more than 415,000 Lao workers were employed abroad, which contributed to a worsening labor shortage at home, with 203,161 working illegally. This migration is driven by high inflation and low wages, which people are struggling to survive on in such a challenging economy. The trend continues to impact the domestic labor market, contributing to a growing shortage in the workforce.

To further tackle the issue, the government is working with businesses to offer a dual cooperative training program—which combines classroom learning with hands-on experience in the workplace.

These programs provide practical skills that lead to well-paying jobs and help meet the workforce demands of key industries, enabling individuals to contribute to economic growth and fill critical roles in manufacturing, agriculture, and the automotive sector.

The Technical and Vocational Education Department anticipates enrolling more than 24,000 students this year in newly developed courses such as general mechanical repair, factory mechanics, agricultural machinery, electrical technology, and automotive repair.

This program is designed to enhance students’ mechanical and electrical engineering skills by offering real-world training that prepares them for actual job situations and aligns with today’s labor market demands.

This is not the first time Laos has attempted to retain its workers.

In 2024, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare released an official notice encouraging citizens to stay in the country and consider local employment opportunities. As part of this initiative, the ministry organized a job fair in March aimed at addressing the ongoing labor shortage. The event sought to fill 560 job positions across 56 companies, with a total demand for approximately 1,800 workers.

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