The report said a recent survey of 30 Vietnam IT businesses showed that 89.30% of them have cooperated with Japanese partners in doing software outsourcing.

Nguyen Ich Vinh, General Director of Tinhvan Outsourcing Company said two major issues that Vietnam needs to address in meeting the strict quality standards of Japanese firms are developing a long-term strategy and human resources.

If these obstacles are properly dealt with, Vietnam has a tremendous opportunity to profitably expand IT cooperation with Japan, Vinh said.

Attractive human resources

In addition to its advantages in culture, the low-cost human resources in Vietnam are a crucial aspect attractive to Japanese investors.

Nguyen Doan Hung, President of Vietnam-Japan IT Cooperation Club (VJC), says there is a shortage of qualified people who can speak the Japanese language.

The problem is compounded due to the fact that a number of major projects being implemented by the Japanese Government have created a high demand for Vietnamese IT personnel.

This year, Sapporo IT Front (SITF) signed a cooperative agreement with VINASA to carry out a project for human resources development for the IT industry in Hanoi.

Earlier this year, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) committed to financing VND12.5 billion for a three year project from 2014 to 2016. It focuses on developing training curriculum in line with Vietnam and will train around 130 engineers and 10 university lecturers.

Takayuki Kubo, Director in charge of IT of Sapporo Industrial and Economic Promotion Agency, says the project is key to developing personnel for Vietnam IT industry in the future.

Junko Kawauchi, Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA) Vice President says that Japan firms want to cooperate with partners that have the human resources to carry out big projects.

However, most Vietnam firms are small and medium, which find it sofdifficult to get projects from Japan, Kawauchi said..