THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the national target employment program up to 2010 with the following principal contents:

I. THE PROGRAM'S OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives:

To contribute to achieving general objectives of the economy by ensuring jobs for around 49.5 million people, creating new jobs for 8 million people during 5 years from 2006 to 2010 (of which 2-2.2 million people will directly benefit from this Program), and reducing the unemployment rate in urban areas to below 5% by 2010.

2. Specific objectives up to 2010:

a/ To create jobs for 2-2.2 million people through the national target employment program during five years from 2006 to 2010, specifically:

- To create jobs in the country for 1.7-1.8 million people under projects on provision of loans for job creation from the National Employment Fund;

- To create jobs overseas for 400,000-500,000 people through labor exporting enterprises and the Overseas Employment Support Fund.

b/ To strengthen the capacity of, and modernize, 30-40 job placement centers and to perfect the labor market information system; to increase the number of people who receive job-related advice and job placements to 4 million during the five years; to establish and operate a labor market website by 2008;

c/ To provide professional training for 75,000 central and local labor-employment cadres.

II. DURATION AND SCOPE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM

1. Implementation duration: up to 2010.

2. Scope of implementation: nationwide.

III. THE PROGRAM'S CONTENTS

The program covers the following major 3 projects and 2 activities:

1. A project on provision of loans for job creation:

a/ Objective: To create jobs for 1.7-1.8 million people through the provision of loans from the National Employment Fund.

b/ Contents:

- To provide loans with preferential interest rates to unemployed and underemployed people, production and business households, small- and medium-sized enterprises, farms and craft villages which can create many new jobs, especially for unemployed young people;

- Annually, the National Employment Fund for 64 provinces and centrally run cities, the Ministry of Defense and socio-political organizations will receive additional allocations from the central budget fund.

2. A project in support of guest workers:

a/ Objective: To send 400,000-500,000 laborers to work abroad for given terms.

b/ Contents:

- Supporting the tapping and opening of labor-receiving markets;

- Supporting the offsetting of loan interest-rate differences for policy beneficiaries who borrow capital for going to work abroad;

- Supporting vocational training, orientation training and improvement of the quality of laborers.

3. A project in support of labor market development:

a/ Objective: To strengthen the capacity of, and modernize, 30-40 job placement centers; to increase the number of people who receive job-related advice and job placements to 4 million during the five years; to establish and operate a labor market website by 2008.

b/ Contents:

- To strengthen the capacity of job placement centers to meet the requirements of labor market development;

- To perfect the labor market information system;

- Annually, to conduct a survey of labor markets aiming to help assess the realization of the Program's objectives and elaborate work plans under local socio-economic development plans;

- To support the regular organization of job-related transaction floors.

4. Monitoring and evaluation:

a/ Objective: To evaluate and monitor activities and projects within the framework of the national target employment program.

b/ Contents:

- To evaluate results of the implementation of projects under the Program, annual results and results of the implementation of the Program;

- To monitor the implementation of activities under the Program;

- To study, propose, amend or supplement mechanisms and policies to suit the Program's characteristics.

5. Enhancement of labor and employment management capacity:

a/ Objective: To provide professional guidance to 75,000 central and local labor-employment cadres.

b/ Contents: To conduct training courses on methods of formulating and implementing the Program and new documents; methods of formulating and managing the project on the provision of loans from the National Employment Fund, and job placement skills for cadres of provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and central agencies of socio-political organizations and social organizations, and local labor-employment cadres.

IV. SOLUTION TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM

1. Policies and mechanisms:

a/ Policies:

- To further improve labor and employment policies and programs on making laws on unemployment insurance, labor export, job training, etc.;

- To formulate contents guiding the management and implementation of projects and activities under the Program.

b/ Mechanisms:

- Capital use mechanism: To distribute loans based on the job creation capacity through capital-borrowing projects, giving priority to provinces which efficiently provide loans, where many ethnic minority people live or where a large area of agricultural land is converted into non-agricultural land;

- Coordination mechanism: To enhance coordination between state management agencies and mass organizations and localities in managing, and organizing the implementation of, capital-borrowing projects; in making annual plans on the use of loans and defining responsibilities of the Social Policy Bank in the management, provision of loans, preservation and growth of the Fund;

- Decentralization mechanism: To step up decentralization to local administrations at all levels, attaching importance to decentralization to district-level administrations in organizing and implementing projects on provision of loans to different groups of borrowers;

- Integration mechanism: To step up the integration of projects under the Program with projects under the national target program on poverty reduction and other programs;

- Monitoring and evaluation mechanism:

+ The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and provincial-level People's Committees shall enhance the inspection and supervision of the provision of loans under projects, especially projects on the provision of large loans in localities highly prone to risks due to their unfavorable natural conditions or less favorable business environment;

+ To improve the operation of the Steering Committee for Implementation of the Program and raise the responsibilities of local administrations at all levels.

2. Management and implementation of the Program:

a/ The Steering Committee for Implementation of the Program is composed of:

- The Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs as its head;

- A vice minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs as a deputy head;

- Members including a vice minister of Planning and Investment, a vice minister of Finance and a deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam.

b/ The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall act as the Program's standing body. The Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall decide on the setting up of the Steering Committee for Implementation of the Program and promulgate the Activity Regulation of the Steering Committee.

3. Funding:

The total capital for the Program is VND 5,985 billion (excluding overseas employment support capital), including:

- The central budget: VND 4,895 billion (of which VND 2,600 billion comes from job creation loans transferred from 2005);

- Local budgets: VND 560 billion (of which VND 164 billion comes from localities' loans for job creation transferred from 2005);

- Community contributions: VND 500 billion;

- International contributions: VND 30 billion.

The central budget fund to be allocated to the Program is VND 2,295 billion, of which:

- The project on provision of job creation loans: VND 2,000 billion;

- The project in support of labor market development: VND 225 billion;

- Monitoring and evaluation: VND 40 billion;

- Enhancement of labor and employment management capacity: VND 30 billion.

V. RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES PARTICIPATING IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM

1. Responsibilities of ministries and central branches:

a/ The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

- Elaborate an annual plan on implementation of the Program, identifying the tasks, objectives, funding needs, and proposed implementation solutions, and send it to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for synthesis and submission to the Government;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches in, elaborating mechanisms for implementation of the project on provision of job creation loans, the project in support of guest workers, the project in support of labor market development; or for monitoring and evaluation or enhancement of the labor and employment management capacity;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance in urging, inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Program by ministries, branches, provinces and centrally run cities; and report on the implementation of the Program according to current regulations.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in, guiding investment mechanisms applicable to projects under the Program;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, after reaching agreement with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, in balancing and adopting annual plans for implementation of the Program; coordinate in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Program;

c/ The Ministry of Finance shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in, guiding financial management mechanisms for projects under the Program; coordinate in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Program;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in allocating annual state budget funds for the Program in accordance with the State Budget Law;

d/ The State Bank of Vietnam shall direct and inspect the implementation of preferential credit policies for policy beneficiaries of the Social Policy Bank; coordinate in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Program;

e/ The Social Policy Bank shall manage capital sources and organize the timely disbursement for employment support projects according to state mechanisms and policies on loans of the National Employment Fund and its assigned competence;

f/ The Ministry of Defense shall organize the implementation of the Program within the ambit of its functions and tasks related to the Program.

2. Responsibilities of provincial/municipal People's Committees and mass organizations:

a/ Provincial/municipal People's Committees shall formulate, and organize the implementation of, their local programs based on the national target employment program approved by the Government and guiding documents of ministries and branches; periodically report on the implementation of this Program to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs according to regulations.

b/ Socio-political organizations and social organizations shall organize the implementation of the Program within the ambit of their functions and tasks.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 3.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees shall implement this Decision.