Meteorologists forecast shortage of qualified staff
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese meteorologists have raised concerns about a lack of qualified staff and equipment to effectively forecast increasingly frequent floods and storms.
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A meteorologist at the Trung Trung Bo Weather Forecast Bureau in the central city Da Nang. Vietnamese meteorologists have raised concerns about a lack of qualified staff who can effectively forecast increasingly volatile weather. |
This is particularly worrying now that the nation’s weather is predicted to become more volatile due to climate change.
Low pay is one of the major reasons leading to the shortage of skilled forecasters. According to general director of the National Hydro-meteorological Service of Viet Nam, Bui Van Duc, there was also a dire need for an advanced computer network to analyse meteorological statistics.
However, he said that even if this equipment was installed, trained staff would still be needed to operate it.
“The qualifications of our staff are insufficient to handle such super-computer networks,” said Duc. “The nation’s meteorologists need further training.”
The director of the service’s forecasting centre, Bui Minh Tang, said low wages for meteorologists - between VND1.5 and VND2 million (US$90-120) a month - made it difficult to attract and retain talented workers.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Pham Khoi Nguyen acknowledged that the shortage of skilled meteorologists was one of his great concerns.
And he warned that two thirds of experienced forecasters would retire during the next five years. Young people, meanwhile, did not want to join the hydro-meteorology sector, he said.
Nguyen quoted a statement from the Ministry of Education and Training that it was extremely difficult to get students to enrol in meteorology courses, even though the ministry had lowered the bar for university entrance.
There are only a few universities providing majors in meteorology in Viet Nam. They include the University of Science, the Water Resources University and the Environment and Natural Resources Junior College.
A first-year student at the Ha Noi Water Resources University, Nguyen Ngoc Duc, said few people had registered for entrance exams even though they were not too tough.
“It seems to me that the required attention has not yet been given to the sector’s development,” he said. “And workers in the hydro-meteorology sector get rather low wages.”
Unsatisfactory pay is believed to be the major reason forcing many good meteorologists to quit and look for other work.
A senior forecaster at the hydro-meteorological forecasting service said that while he was among the first people to work at the centre, only recently, at the age of 59, was his pay raised to more than VND3 million a month.
The forecaster, who asked not to be named, said it was already hard to study meteorology, as it required a solid grasp of maths and physics.
“Anyone who is looking for a stable job may find hydro-meteorological forecasting centres as the ideal places to work as long as they don’t mind getting low salaries,” he said.
Former director of the Ministry of Natural resources and Environment’s Technology and Science Department, Nguyen Van Hai, said many good forecasters had quit over the years and only a few devoted staff had stayed.
He said modern forecasting technology required comprehensive knowledge and skills in maths, physics, IT, meteorology and telecommunications -and this took about seven years to acquire.
Forecasting is a scientific study of probability. Engineer Ha Minh Hai, who has more than 20 years of experience as a senior weather forecaster, said the nation’s forecasting would only improve with better trained staff and equipment.
Duc said the centre would send its experts to universities and colleges to explain the needs of the profession.
The service will also ask the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to choose outstanding students for study abroad.
“We truly want to resolve the existing situation,” he said.
(Source: VNS)
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