Most discussions about high-quality FDI still focus on capital, tax incentives, land availability, and supply chains. But ask FDI companies operating in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Gia Lai or other industrial hubs in Vietnam, and the answer is often more practical.
The real constraint is not only land or tax. It is the shortage of mid-to-senior local talent who can help foreign-invested operations move beyond execution and into higher-value activities. That is where the quality of FDI is really tested.
Vietnam is attracting strong FDI.
In 2025, Vietnam recorded about USD 27.6 billion in disbursed FDI, up 9% year-on-year and the highest level in five years. Manufacturing and processing accounted for USD 22.88 billion, or 82.8% of realised FDI.
That is good news. But high-quality FDI is not measured only by capital inflow. The harder question is: Can Vietnam build enough local talent to absorb, manage, and upgrade what foreign investors bring?
The Ireland lesson
I would relate the context to lesson from Ireland. Ireland is often mentioned as an FDI success story. But the useful lesson is not simply tax incentives.
Ireland connected FDI promotion with education, universities, technical skills, and institutional execution. Research on Ireland’s economic boom links its high-tech FDI success with the development of third-level education.
IDA Ireland still promotes talent and education as core reasons why companies invest there.
The point is simple: Capital may start the project. Talent determines how much value stays.
Vietnam’s talent gap is already visible
Vietnam wants to move up the value chain, especially in semiconductors, electronics, and advanced manufacturing.
But the talent base is still thin. Vietnam reportedly in early 2026 has around 15,000 semiconductor specialists, while the national target is 50,000 by 2030.
The World Bank’s semiconductor report is direct: Vietnam’s ambition depends on urgent investment in talent, science, and innovation. It identifies highly skilled human capital as a critical foundation for the semiconductor ecosystem.
This is not only a semiconductor issue. The World Bank also notes that only 5% of Vietnam’s manufacturing workforce is considered high-skilled, and only 10% of the population holds a bachelor’s degree.
That matters for every investor who wants to do more than basic production.
The real bottleneck: mid-to-senior local talent
For many FDI companies, the problem is not only finding workers. The harder problem is finding people who can move into higher-value roles. These roles include production managers who can run complex operations, engineers who can solve process problems, not only follow instructions, quality managers who understand international customer expectations, commercial teams who can work with global buyers and technical leaders who can connect local execution with foreign headquarters.
This layer is critical. Without it, foreign investors often keep decision-making outside Vietnam.
Why this matters for high-quality FDI
High-quality FDI should not only create jobs. On a large scale, it should also create:
- stronger local suppliers
- better technical capability
- more Vietnamese managers in senior roles
- more local decision-making power
- more knowledge retained in the economy
This does not happen automatically. More FDI volume does not guarantee more local capability. A country needs absorption capacity.
That means people, universities, vocational schools, local firms, and institutions must be ready to work with investors at a higher level. At policy level, this needs to be prioritized and actively enabled.
In reality, investors often treat talent as part of market-entry risk. Before investing, they ask:
Where is the local talent pool?
Which roles can be localized within three to five years?
Which universities or technical schools can support hiring?
How difficult is it to build local management based on local talent?
Can local suppliers move beyond basic production?
These are not HR questions, but investment strategy questions.
My personal view
The next phase of FDI is about turning FDI into stronger local capability. That attracts high-quality FDI. For high-quality FDI, talent is not a supporting topic. It can be the bottleneck.
Talent base will decide Vietnam remains mainly a production location, or becomes a serious knowledge-based manufacturing hub.
But this is a solvable problem. The government is already introducing more enabling policies. Vietnam also has a strong foundation: hardworking people, a young workforce, high adaptability, and a serious learning mindset.
That is a good starting point to seize the opportunities created by high-quality FDI.
Reference sources:
https://theinvestor.vn/vietnams-2025-fdi-disbursement-hits-5-year-high-d18057.html
https://www.idaireland.com/why-companies-choose-ireland/talent-education
OnPoint Consulting by Hau Pham 
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