Japan ICT Day 2017 opens in Ho Chi Minh City

The 11th Japan ICT Day 2017 opens in HCM City on October 26 - Credit: NDO

Hosted by the Vietnam IT Software and Services Association (VINASA) and Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation Club (VJC), under the theme of "Digital Transformation: The New Era for Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation," activities during the four-day event are taking place in both HCM City and the central city of Da Nang...

At the event, Junko Kawauchi, Vice President of JISA's Global Affairs, quoted a report from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2016 as saying, by 2019 the number of IT engineers in Japan will reach its peak with more than 920,000, before beginning to decline. Meanwhile, demand is constantly increasing, leading to a serious shortage of manpower. Currently, Japan is lacking over 100,000 IT engineers on average, by 2020 the figure is estimated to be at over 230,000, and by 2030 around 590,000 employees. The report also pointed out that the number of Vietnamese IT engineers working in the IT sector in Japan only accounts for 4% of foreign engineers, following China (53%) and the Republic of Korea (15%); however, the growth rate of the number of Vietnamese IT engineers in the country has grown at 258%, the highest among the Japanese partners.

Reports at the event also showed that, at present, 80% of Vietnam-Japan cooperative projects in the IT sector are in outsourcing and offshoring. However, according to a survey from the organising board on enterprises cooperating with Japanese partners, the number of cooperation enterprises in the field of high technology, research and development is increasing. Vietnamese enterprises have also improved their understanding of their Japanese partners and there has also been a change on the Japanese side, as transactions between Japanese businesses and their Vietnamese partners are now being conducted in English.

The event gathers over 300 delegates to discuss Vietnam-Japan cooperation in IT during the four-day event - Credit: NDO

Nguyen Doan Hung, Vice President of VINASA cum President of VJC, said that the 4th Industrial Revolution, with new technology trends such as IoT, AI, Big Data, digital transformation, the change in business models and the abundant human resources from Vietnam would open up great opportunities for cooperation, which can be said of the future of IT cooperation, between Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises.

Human resources and digital transformation were discussed in more detail in two sessions at the event, in which speakers agreed that businesses and training institutions of the two countries have a lot of cooperation programs in new human resource development in both quantity and quality. IT companies are working closely with universities, not only to request and order training, but also to directly coordinate with them in terms of content and training methods. There are a number of Vietnamese enterprises that are cooperating with Japanese partners in such fields as IoT, AI, robotic and Big Data, laying a solid basis for the new era in IT cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

Also within the framework of Japan ICT Day 2017, the VJC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Okinawa Business Association for Digital Contents with the expectation of promoting business cooperation between the two countries in the field of digital content - a field in which both Vietnam and Japan have had strong development over many years but not in a cooperative manner as of yet.

In addition, this year's program also includes trade promotion activities aimed at directly supporting the enterprises of the two countries to introduce their products and services, while seeking cooperation opportunities in trade shows, exhibitions and workshops in Da Nang.

During the Japan ICT Day 2017, the special publication of Vietnam's 50 Leading IT Companies 2017, listing the top 50 IT companies in Vietnam, in Japanese, English and Vietnamese will also be officially introduced to the Vietnamese and Japanese delegates participating in the event.