The 2025 Salary Report, compiled by the Joboko recruitment platform based on nearly 582,000 job postings in Vietnam, highlights a significant trend in jobs requiring foreign languages, particularly Chinese. Compared to other foreign languages like Japanese or Korean, the demand for Chinese-speaking workers shows exceptional growth.

In 2025, the market recorded nearly 13,000 new job openings requiring Chinese proficiency, marking an increase of almost 50% from 2024 and 95% from the same period in 2023. In contrast, demand for other foreign languages grew by approximately 20%.

Market realities indicate that many candidates with Chinese language skills, even with limited experience, receive salaries comparable to those of senior staff. This is a rare phenomenon in positions not requiring foreign language proficiency. Across manufacturing, engineering, and business sectors, salaries for Chinese-speaking candidates are 10-40% higher than for equivalent positions without language requirements.

For employees with less than one year of experience, the salary for Chinese-speaking individuals ranges from 12-18 million dong, while non-language positions offer 8-12 million dong. Technical staff proficient in Chinese earn 15-26 million dong, which is one and a half times higher than technical roles without language requirements. Notably, pre-sales positions, which involve pre-business activities such as technical support and solution consulting, show an income difference of 50-120%, reaching 18-42 million dong compared to 10-18 million dong for non-language roles.

In the engineering and manufacturing sector, Chinese-speaking quality control (QC) personnel, responsible for ensuring products meet production standards, consistently command leading salaries regardless of experience level. Employees with one to three years of experience earn a median salary of 13 million dong at the lowest and 30 million dong at the highest, while regular QC staff earn 9-12 million dong. These figures are equivalent to the salaries of electromechanical engineers with over 5 years of experience and 1.5-2 times higher than quality management staff earning 10-15 million dong.

Similarly, in the administration, office, and human resources sectors, the salary for Chinese-speaking assistants with less than one year of experience ranges from 12 million dong to 16 million dong. Those with one to three years of experience earn a minimum median of 13 million dong and a high median of 17 million dong. This income level is second only to assistant directors and general directors who require one to three years of experience.

Recruitment for Chinese-speaking personnel primarily occurs in Northern Vietnam, where Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) factories have significantly increased their operations. Bac Ninh, after its merger, boasts over 26,000 businesses employing more than 820,000 workers, predominantly from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese FDI. In the first three months of 2026, these factories need to recruit approximately 60,000 workers, including skilled technical professionals and general laborers, mainly in the electronics sector, with companies such as Hong Hai, Luxshare-ICT, Fukang Technology, and Goertek Vina. Among these, about 10,000 job positions require Chinese proficiency, primarily for operational roles and direct communication with management.

Tran Van Quang, Head of the Consulting, Introduction, and Job Forecasting Department at Bac Ninh Employment Service Center No. 1, stated that the starting income for new Chinese-speaking workers is approximately 15-17 million dong, increasing with seniority, and is higher than for positions not requiring a foreign language. However, recruiting such personnel is challenging due to specialized requirements and the simultaneous demand from many companies. Besides attracting talent from technical training schools and seeking foreign language-proficient workers, companies often send staff to parent companies or headquarters in China for further language and professional development, with a commitment to long-term employment.

"In the coming years, the demand for this segment of human resources will continue to rise as major enterprises investing in the area are primarily Chinese FDI," he added.

Proficiency in Chinese is creating numerous job opportunities and boosting incomes for workers. Photo: Hong Chieu

Joboko also noted that knowing Chinese not only expands career opportunities but also significantly improves income for candidates. Chinese companies are willing to pay higher salaries to effectively address communication and operational challenges as they expand manufacturing activities in Vietnam. This trend is expected to continue for at least three more years.

Hong Chieu