Students seek information on job applications and companies that are hiring.

Job fair provides work opportunities to students

A job fair has been organised in Vientiane by Chinese firms that plan to hire at least 1,000 Lao nationals for a range of positions in different companies.
This is the second job fair of its kind and it is being jointly organised by the Confucius Institute at the National University of Laos (NUOL), the China Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Laos and the NUOL on July 1 and 2.
A total of 30 companies are participating in the event to offer work opportunities to students looking for jobs.
The official ceremony to mark the opening of the fair was attended by the NUOL Vice President, Dr Houngphet Chanthavong, the Confucius Institute’s Director, Mr Khamhoung Chanthavongsa, a representative of the China Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Laos, Mr Chenqinru, officials from relevant ministries, especially the ministries of education and sports, labour and social welfare, and agriculture and forestry, and representatives of Chinese companies.   
The first such job fair was held in 2020 by Chinese entrepreneurs in collaboration with the China Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Laos, the Confucius Institute and NUOL. A total of 24 companies participated in that event and there are now more than 400 students working with these companies, Dr Houngphet said at the ceremony.
“Normally, this event is held every year but because of the second wave of infections of the Covid-19 pandemic in Laos, we had to cancel in 2021,” he said.
The object of job fairs is to help students find work opportunities and apply for jobs, and to provide information on what companies require from new graduates.  
The latest event is part of efforts to promote human resource development, trade, investment and cultural exchanges between Laos and China under the Belt and Road Initiative and Shared Future.
A growing number of Lao students are learning Mandarin as Chinese companies have been expanding their trade and investment operations in the country.
China is the to foreign investor in Laos and Laos’s second largest trading partner, according to the government reports.
The Confucius Institute is a model project for promoting people-to-people exchanges between Laos and China and it contributes to educational development, especially in language and culture.
The institute is allowing Lao people to access and study the Chinese culture with Chinese lecturers who are the custodians of the language and culture.
The institute is a bridge between the Lao and Chinese governments. It contributes to Lao human resource development to supply important projects in the country.
At the ceremony the China Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Laos has provided 100 scholarships, worth 50 million kip and 12 scholarships, worth six million kip by the Sino-Agri Potash Co., Ltd to the Confucius Institute to help disadvantage and poor students. 

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update July 4, 2022)