In a bustling provincial city in Vietnam, the air was thick with the scent of star anise and the hum of a nation in high gear. At a roadside stall, Mai and her younger brother, Khoi, sat on low plastic stools, steam from their bowls of pho rising to meet the humid evening air.
It was early 2026, a year the government had dubbed the “Opening of the Double-Digit Era.” Everywhere you looked, the signs were there: heavy cranes towered over the skyline as part of the nearly $42 billion public investment push into “strategic infrastructure”—high-speed rail links and digital hubs aimed at catapulting GDP growth to a staggering 10%.
“You’re eating like you’ve been working on those rail lines yourself,” Mai teased, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
The Shifting Frontier of the Office
Mai worked at a major BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) center just a few blocks away. For years, the office had been a sea of voices, but lately, it had grown quieter. Under Vietnam’s new Digital Technology Law, which took effect on January 1st, companies were aggressively integrating “homegrown AI” platforms like FPT AI and Viettel AI.
“It’s not just chatbots anymore, Khoi,” she said, swirling her noodles. “The new voice-bots handle 40% of the routine calls now. My manager says we aren’t just ‘operators’ anymore; we have to become ‘AI Workflow Supervisors.’ If I don’t learn how to manage the AI’s escalations by the end of the year, I don’t know if I’ll have a desk left.”
A New Path for the “Golden Generation”
Khoi, a high school senior, listened intently. For years, his plan was the standard dream of the Vietnamese “Golden Population”: study Japanese, get an IT degree, and code for a multinational. But the landscape was shifting. While the demand for AI specialists was soaring—with salaries jumping 20% this year—the entry-level “general coder” market was becoming hyper-competitive.
“I’m actually thinking of the vocational route,” Khoi admitted, surprising her. “The electronics and high-tech manufacturing sectors are projecting 12% growth this year. With all this public investment in the new International Financial Centre and the North-South expressways, they need technicians who can bridge the gap between AI and hardware.”
He poked at a piece of beef. “If I go into high-tech manufacturing or logistics, I could be earning 15 million VND right out of the gate. Plus, the government is pouring money into ‘Skills of the Future’ vocational reforms. I could still use my Japanese to work for the new precision-tooling plants the Japanese are building in the suburbs.”
A Nation in Transition
The siblings sat at the intersection of Vietnam’s grand ambition. To hit that 10% growth target, the country wasn’t just building bridges; it was rebuilding its workforce. The “blue-collar” labels of the past were fading, replaced by “skilled technical roles” that required the very digital literacy Khoi was so eager to master.
As they finished their meal, the roar of a truck carrying construction materials for a nearby bridge project rumbled past.
“Double-digit growth,” Mai mused, paying the vendor via a QR code—a tiny testament to the digital economy that was now worth $45 billion. “It means we have to move as fast as the country is.”
Khoi nodded, looking toward the bright lights of the industrial zone on the horizon. “I’m not afraid of the work, Chi. I just want to be the one driving the machine, not the one replaced by it.”
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms
Vietnam targets double-digit growth in 2026 with massive investment push
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