Criteria for railway jobs revealed

The Laos-China Railway Company has outlined the basic requirements for people applying for jobs in the operation of the Laos-China railway, which is slated for completion in 2021.
Applicants must be able to speak basic Chinese and have a college degree or higher, while preference will be given to those holding a degree in engineering.
Other preferred skill areas include electricians and technicians, transport management and engine repair, Director General of the Department of Technical and Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Sports, Mr Nouphanh Outsa, told Vientiane Times.

Officials in charge at the company, which was established by the Lao and Chinese governments to operate the railway, met with the department to discuss preparations for recruitment.
The company announced recently that as many as 600 Lao nationals will be selected and recruited in three batches for the operation of the railway. The successful applicants will be sent for professional training in China.
Job vacancies will be announced later this month on various platforms, including media outlets. Interested parties are advised to visit the company’s website and social media page at: www.lcrc.ltd. or facebook: laos china railway company limited.
The company and the department are considering setting up a committee to supervise the recruitment process, according to Mr Nouphanh.
The first recruitment session is expected to accept 200 people who will go to Kunming for training in March or April, taking courses that last 15-18 months.
“The challenge is to find sufficient numbers of people with adequate qualifications to fill the job vacancies,” Mr Nouphanh said.
Although many Lao nationals have completed courses in China and can speak Chinese, some took courses in fields that are not preferred. In addition, many have taken courses in Lao colleges studying the preferred areas of specialisation but do not speak Chinese, he added.
Selection of the first batch of trainees will see the strict application of criteria that require applicants to have taken high level courses in the preferred fields.
There could be some compromise in the recruitment of successive batches of trainees whereby a lower level degree is accepted, but those selected will need to take longer training courses subsequently, Mr Nouphanh said, citing discussions with rail company officials.
Thousands of jobs will be created for local people by the Laos-China railway when it becomes operational in 2021, according to a previous report. The railway is currently 83 percent complete.
To ensure an adequate supply of trained personnel for operation of the railway in the long term, the government is planning to build a railway vocational technical college with the assistance of the Chinese government.
Officials in charge have been working to secure the pledged financial assistance, according to Mr Nouphanh.
Work has already begun on the design of the college. More than 30 teachers have been sent for training in China before taking up posts at the college, which will be built near the National Stadium in Vientiane.
It was reported previously that construction of the Laos-China railway created more than 32,000 jobs for Lao workers.

By Souksakhone Vaenkeo
(Latest Update January 16, 2020)