The Factory Ambassador programme: Empowering workers in Viet Nam’s garment industry

16 Jul 2024

An innovative programme is allowing Better Work to build capability and promote sustainable compliance in the country’s garment factories.

Phan Thi Trang works in compliance at the Minh Anh-Kim Lien factory. Her job regularly requires her to deliver training to her fellow workers. In the past, she has struggled with her communication skills. “Before, I used to present information without caring enough about the participants,” she admits, “and I think that some of them got really sleepy.”

Trang is a Factory Ambassador at the company in Nghe An province. Factory Ambassadors are staff that receive comprehensive Better Work training in occupational safety and health, labour law and industrial relations, and gender equality.  They are also coached on their facilitating skills. The goal is to develop a factory’s internal capacity to promote sustainable compliance and equip ambassadors to take greater ownership of the factory’s improvement process.

While she hails from Nghe An province, Trang moved to Ho Chi Minh City for several years to pursue a university education in Environmental Studies and work in Human Resources in the garment industry. She was drawn to the industry because of her passion for working with people. “I loved working with a lot of people, and the garment industry is a worker-intensive sector,” Trang explains. While this comes along with challenges of ensuring good working conditions for a high volume of staff, Trang has taken on the challenge with enthusiasm.

Trang learned about the Factory Ambassador Programme through conversations with Better Work Viet Nam’s Enterprise Advisors. She discussed it with her manager, who supported her decision to apply. She feels this step marked a significant milestone in her career.  

“Before the programme, I worked mostly as compliance staff and was involved in OSH and environmental compliance. But, after becoming a Factory Ambassador, I built my knowledge and skills,” says Trang. The training she received through the programme strengthened her skills in workplace cooperation, effective communication, and understanding of labour laws. “We also learned how to carry out self-diagnosis and effective factory assessments,” she adds.

Trang aims to reinforce her newfound knowledge to support her career and prospects for promotion at Minh Anh-Kim Lien factory. As she has been there for less than a year, she has found some aspects of the work challenging, “there are a lot of new customers, new brands. And each customer or brand has their own requirements that we need to follow,” she says. 

Nguyen Viet Hop, a HR Manager with the company, believes the business is benefitting from Trang’s training. “Following the FA training course, I have seen great improvement in Trang’s self-assessment and internal evaluation skills. She is now able to independently plan and carry out internal assessments, identify risks, and propose solutions for the factory. Currently, Trang has been able to accurately analyse and evaluate existing procedures, figure out areas of weakness and opportunities for improvement. The FA training sessions have not only improved Trang’s personal skills but have also significantly benefited the factory by assisting us to optimize processes, boost efficiency, and minimize risks,” she says.

Phan Thi Trang presents at a factory meeting.

The Factory Ambassador Programme, originally developed by Better Work Indonesia, was piloted by Better Work Viet Nam in late 2020 in response to growing demand for its factory engagement model.  With more than 750,000 workers employed in over 500 Better Work Viet Nam enrolled factories, continuing progress on persistent issues around social dialogue, overtime limits and OSH required the programme to innovate to ensure changes are durable and widespread. 

Through the programme, Factory Ambassadors assist during the advisory process, reducing dependence on Better Work Enterprise Advisors. The initiative enables Better Work to gradually transfer capacity, improve the autonomy of participating factories, and foster sustainable improvements in labour standards in the industry.

Nguyen Hong Ha, Better Work Viet Nam Programme Manager, explains that the Factory Ambassador Programme is important in achieving long-term sustainability in factory compliance. “The programme is one of the tools we support to build a sustainable compliance culture within factories. By empowering workers and compliance staff with the necessary skills and knowledge, we ensure that compliance is not just a periodic check but a continuous, ingrained practice in factory operations with greater factory ownership.”

Trang recommends the Factory Ambassador programme for those considering joining, citing the knowledge and skills she gained through the training. She believes her communication skills are now a strength. “I’ve learned how to make presentations more visually eye-catching. I try to manage my voice, the volume of my voice, and all the interactions with participants to make the training more attractive and the content more relevant.”

Trang is one of many Factory Ambassadors supporting positive change at the factory level, one interaction at a time.

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