Hanoi (VNA) – Over 80 percent of Japanese firms saidthey are willing to receive foreign workers, and 95 percent of them are interestedin Vietnamese IT engineers, according to a survey conducted by the VietnamSoftware Association (VINASA).

A representative from the Japan Information Technology Service IndustryAssociation (JISA) said Japan is facing a shortage of human resources incomputer software.

As of June this year,Japanese firms needed around 781,000 IT engineers.

However, in order to qualify to work for Japanese companies,Vietnamese IT engineers need to get up to speed on new technologies, such asartificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and Big Data, along withJapanese language skills and an understanding of the Japanese business cultureand market, said the representative.

A VINASA survey of 60 companies partnering with Japanesefirms showed that digital transformation, virtual reality and Big Data have themost potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

Currently, the Japanese IT market is valuedat about 460billion USD, with the software sector making up 130billion USD.

Japan is now one of the biggest foreign investors inVietnam, especially in the technology sector.

According to the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO),last year, nearly 250 Japanese companies invested in the Vietnamese IT sectorwith capital accounting for 8 percent of total Japanese FDI in Vietnam.

Recently, the Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation Committee and the IT Innovation and Strategy CentreOkinawa (ISCO) signed a memorandum of understanding on supporting partnershipsbetween Vietnamese and Japanese IT companies, especially in researching anddeveloping new technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution./.