Graduates find favour in agriculture jobs

Khue’s company, Nong Th (FarmMart), offers vegetables cultivated under the good agricultural practice standards called Vietgap.
It also offers customers new methods to grow vegetables in their own gardens.
“My job is not related to my field of study, but it has a future,” said Khue, who worked part-time at a biotech centre before starting his business.
After two years, his company began earning a profit.
Many of Khue’s customers have used his consulting services and learned how to grow vegetables at home.
“Many urban residents, including youths, enjoy gardening. We provide clients with gardening equipment and tools, and we also offer information and skills to help them grow vegetables that they can use daily,” he said.
“Our young experts can come and search for their customers’ homes to give advice.
“For customers who can’t build a garden at home, we invite them to join our farm located in B์nh Tnh district, where they can grow and pick vegetables themselves,” he said.
Customers who want to use the service of Nong should have a 10-square-metre area at home. Nong Th’s fee is only 394,000 dong (Bt631).
The fees for using the services at Nong Th’s farm are higher, from 500,000 dong to over 1.2 million dong, depending on the size of land used.
Khue said his service appeals to customers who want safe food and products, and to improve the environment as well.
The agricultural and forestry fields are attracting more university graduates like Khue.
In HCM City and its neighbouring provinces, many local and foreign companies and factories are willing to employ skilled labourers working in the factories.
Recent surveys by job recruiting and career search websites such as Vietnamworks.com, vieclam.vn and careerlink show that many graduates are employed in jobs related to agriculture.
According to Tra Vinh University, the job recruiting sites are seeking more than 320 candidates for stable jobs with high salaries for CP Vietnam Corporation, a leading company in husbandry with investment from Thailand.
Candidates in biochemistry, aquaculture, veterinary and fish medical majors are given priority.
The Masan Group’s Masan Nutri Science is recruiting workers for its two brands, Anco and Proconco, in animal food and breeding.
They offer employees a total yearly salary of 250 million-280 million dong, a high income for graduates.
Explaining the beginning of his career in a husbandry factory in Dong Nai province, Nguyen Thanh Phong, a graduate of the city’s University of Agriculture and Forestry, said he chose his job as it was suited to his skills and labour market demand.
“I plan to develop my own business after I learn at my current job,” he said.
To satisfy labour market demand, agricultural universities recently opened several faculties, such as information technology, environmental technology, biotechnology, food technology and property management.
Besides training more students, the schools have improved curricula and facilities.