Overview

Chinese labour legislation provides that the State is responsible for taking measures through various channels to expand vocational training undertakings, in order to develop the professional skills of employees, to improve their qualities, and to raise their employment capabilities and work abilities. Employers/ enterprises should also establish a system for vocational training under Chinese legislation.

The Labour Advisory Committee is listed as the Government Agency in charge of overseeing vocational training regulations in Cambodia, with the mission to ‘study problems related to labour, the employment of workers, wages, vocational training, the mobility of labor force in the country, migrations, the improvement of the material and moral conditions of workers and the matter of labor health and safety’ [Article 357 of the Cambodian Labour Law].

The Laotian Labour Law specifies that the labour administration agency is the relevant government agency in charge of overseeing and organising vocational training, and ‘developing labour skills while encouraging and coordinating with different concerned sectors, including State and private sectors throughout society’ is the labour administration agency [Article 9 of the Laotian Labour Law]. Employers are also legally obliged to train employees in Cambodia in order to update their qualifications and skill-levels, with the aim that they will become skilled workers with specialised skills.

Thai labour legislation simply stipulates that an employee is entitled to ‘take leave for training or development of his knowledge and skills in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by Ministerial Regulations’, and that employers who are also acting as the training providers must continue to abide by the rules of the employment contract and relevant laws [Section 36 of the Thai Labour Protection Act].

In Vietnam, the Government is authorised to formulate policies and measures to provide vocational training ‘in order to create favourable conditions for employees to find work or be self-employed’ [Article 17(4) of the Vietnamese Labour Code]. Businesses and organizations are permitted to establish trade training centres, however these are subject to Government control and oversight.