Policy report-Final

Vietnam has a large population of 55 million workers, and although it is currently experiencing a golden age in terms of demographic structure, it faces a significant challenge when it comes to the quality of its human resources. While the skills index in Vietnam has improved in recent years, it remains at a low level compared to Northeast Asian and ASEAN countries. According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), as of the end of 2020, approximately 75.4% of workers had no skill certificates and were limited to low-paying jobs with low labour productivity. Furthermore, workers in Vietnam are vulnerable to the changes brought about by the fourth industrial revolution.

In light of these challenges, it is clear that fundamental changes of the vocational education and training system in Vietnam are needed. This includes improving the quality of vocational education and training, strengthening the linkages between training institutions and businesses, and promoting lifelong learning to ensure that workers are prepared to adapt to changes brought about by advances in science and technology. In addition, there is a need to enhance the governance and management of the vocational education and training system to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of the labour market.

Vietnam has undergone significant changes in its vocational training policy and legal framework, with the government introducing many legal documents and guidelines to improve the organizational structure of vocational training, standardize training qualifications, and facilitate mutual recognition with regional countries. Alongside these opportunities, there have been changes in the mindset about TVET vocational training, in terms of resource mobilization, training approach and students’ career orientation. Overall, these changes represent a positive shift towards a more diversified and market-oriented vocational training system in Vietnam, with greater emphasis on meeting the needs of both students and the labour market. Many amendments to education laws have also been issued to create favourable conditions for vocational school students to pursue further education at a university if they meet the requirements of the training program. These advantages offer chances for an increased number of students to join TVET programs with improved entry standards and also assist in tackling the problem of job losses for middle-aged laborers in the manufacturing industry, who are no longer able to keep up with the pressing working conditions on the conveyor belt.

Amid such opportunities, TVET still has to face various challenges. The advancement of technology and COVID-19 will bring significant changes to labor demand in Vietnam and globally. These changes require employees to have both in-depth and general knowledge to adapt to the working environment. Therefore, vocational training programs need to provide learners with not only necessary vocational skills but also skills to adapt to changes. Meanwhile, low labor quality remains a significant issue in Vietnam. The Global Competitiveness Index report in 2018 ranked Vietnam at 97/140 for worker skills, reflecting the inadequate performance of the vocational training system. In addition to the insufficient number of skilled workers, recent studies indicate that there are numerous weakness in the labor system that demand significant efforts in vocational education. Untrained labor still accounts for a high rate of the workforce, and there are mismatches between training qualifications and occupations. Skilled workers are concentrated in the service sector, and there is a significant imbalance across economic sectors. Vietnam also faces a shortage of high-skilled labor, leading to foreigners filling key management and technical positions at big enterprises and high-end service industries. Furthermore, the low quality of TVET institutions remains a major obstacle. Besides inadequate facilities, numerous vocational training establishments suffer from the drawbacks of outdated and infrequently revised training programs, underqualified teachers and management personnel, as well as lack of connection between vocational schools and businesses.

The requirements brought by digital transformation also constitute a huge challenge. Digital transformation presents an opportunity to enhance vocational training and increase productivity while reducing costs, but this demands a change in perception and investments in building a force of teachers capable of providing training in digital transformation. The large ineffective labour market in Vietnam can also pose a problem for TVET. In Vietnam, there is a growing polarization into two groups: the low-skill, low-wage jobs and high-skill, high-wage jobs, putting low and middle-skilled workers at risk. Additionally, there is a significant qualification mismatch, with a high incidence of under-education and a substantial barrier to labor migration within the country. This has resulted in difficulties for middle-aged workers to find jobs and engage in vocational training. Last but not least, re-skilling training is necessary, as there is a high annual rate of workers being laid off from manufacturing industries as their productivity in physically demanding operations, e.g. in assembly factories, declines already when they reach their mid-30s.

In compliance with the Strategy for Development of Vocational Education (Decision 2239/QD-TTg, 2021) for the period 2021-2030, there are several areas that deserve special attention to develop the TVET sector in Vietnam:: completing the legal and policy framework for TVET; improving financial mechanisms to mobilize resource for vocational training programs; enhancing infrastructure, facilities and promoting digital transformation; strengthening international cooperation; improving training programs; enhancing the quality of teachers, vocational trainers and TVET managers; and developing training programs for re-skilling and lifelong education. In this report, our focus is on the electronics and food processing industries, but it should be noted that there are several other sectors where the supply of skills may constitute an obstacle for sustainable development. These include for example many of the industries that are critical for Vietnam’s green transition, as well as many service sectors facing new demands due to the gradual aging of the population.

1. Introduction

In the past ten years, the quality of vocational training in Vietnam has been gradually improving, better meeting the labor needs of businesses and the labor market. The vocational skills of learners have been enhanced, and about 80% of graduates have found suitable jobs in their fields or have created jobs themselves, participating in almost all sectors of the economy. In some professions such as welding, electronics, telecommunications, logistics, tourism, and oil and gas, Vietnamese workers' skills meet the requirements of foreign-invested businesses and they can take on many complex positions that were previously reserved for foreign experts. However, compared to other countries in the region and the world, Vietnam has a low proportion of trained labor, reaching only 26.1% in 2021. In ian nternational comparison, Vietnam's skill pillar ranking and vocational training quality index are in the bottom group of ASEAN.

Many measures have been implemented by the Vietnamese Government to improve the quality of vocational training, aiming to enhance the quality of the labor force. Under Resolution 19-NQ/TW issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on October 25, 2017, ministries and localities conducted scans of VET institutes under their management and those that failed to meet the requirements underwent restructuring or were dissolved, while some secondary VET schools were merged into colleges. On May 23, 2014, Decision No. 761/QD-TTg approving the "Project on developing high-quality vocational schools until 2020," stipulates the criteria that a vocational school needs to meet in order to be recognized as a high-quality vocational school in terms of training scale, employment after training, students’ competence after training, quality assurance, teachers’ quality, and school management. A list was made including 45 vocational schools nationwide to be developed in accordance with the project.

This report fulfils the requirements of task 3.3 in the Vietskill project, which are to identify the opportunities, challenges, and recommendations for reforming TVET. We use secondary data and the results from other tasks and work packages of the project for this task. The feedback from dissemination workshops conducted in Bac Ning, Nha Trang, and Ho Chi Minh City has also been of high importance for this purpose. The report begins with an overview of Vietnam’s manufacturing labor force and TVET system, with a focus on indicatora of the quantity and quality of the labor force in manufacturing and the structure of TVET system. The opportunities and challenges to reform TVET system are presented next and recommendations are suggested in the last section.

2. Manufacturing labor force and TVET system of Vietnam

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam (2023), the country's labor force aged 15 and above has reached 52.2 million people, with an unemployment rate of 2.25%. Vietnam's economic transitions in the past few decades have resulted in manufacturing becoming the leading sector in job creation, attracting workers away from traditional primary activities. Figure 3.1 shows that employment in the manufacturing sector for the age group of 15 and above has doubled from over 5 million workers in 2005 to over 11 million in 2021. The sector experienced its highest growth rate of almost 13% in 2019, right before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. However, since then, employment in manufacturing (as well as other sectors) has declined slightly, with a negative growth rate of -0.8% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Figure 3.1 Manufacturing employment for age group 15+ in period 2005-2021 (GSO, 2022)

To capture the relative employment contribution of the manufacturing sector, Figure 2 depicts its share in the entire economy’s employment for the age group of 15 and above. Similar to the employment pattern in Figure 1, manufacturing showed a significant increase in its share of the country’s total employment from around 11% in 2005 to roughly 23% in 2021. It should be noted that while the number of manufacturing jobs stagnatedover the years 2019-2021, the manufacturing sector’s share of employment continued growing over the same period. This trend highlights the crucial importance of the manufacturing sector in the Vietnam’s labour market.

Figure 3.2 Manufacturing employment share for age group 15+ in period 2005 – 2021 (GSO, 2022)

According to the British Chamber of Commerce (BritCham, 2022), the manufacturing sector accounts for up to 58.2% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, and its contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased significantly from 13.7% to 25.1% during the five years leading up 2021. The sector also employed about 21.1% of Vietnam's total labor force as of 2020, with a steady increase of 4.8% annually over the last decade. However, BritCham also notes that Vietnam's workforce is relatively low-skilled, which hinders the country's participation in high-value activities of the global value chains.

Despite an increase in the number of trained workers, the rate of labor that has undergone basic technical training remains low at 26.2% (or less than 13 million). The distribution of trained labor is highly uneven with a high concentration in urban areas, especially in big economic hubs such as Ho Chi Minh city (50.2%) and Hanoi (36%). In rural areas such as the Me Kong delta (around 13%), it is more difficult to find qualified or highly skilled employees. Dynamic industries such as electronics, mechanical engineering, textiles and garment, and the automobile industry, which usually aim to employ workers who have undergone vocational training, will face difficulties looking for qualified employees in these areas.

According to the General Department of Vocational Education and Training, as of December 31, 2022, there were 1,905 vocational education and training institutions (in Vietnam, including 410 colleges (out of which 96 were non-public colleges), 437 vocational schools (including 229 non-public vocational schools), and 1,058 vocational training centres (including 358 non-public centers). The aggregate number of non-public vocational education and training institutions was 683, accounting for 35.8% of the total, meeting the target of Resolution No. 35/NQ-CP dated June 4, 2019 of the Government.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has arranged 247 colleges and vocational schools to form a high-quality college system in four key economic regions, to provide training for key occupations that can supply high-quality human resources for the labor market.

During the period 2011-2020, vocational education and training institutions admitted and trained 19.67 million people, including over 1.9 million college-level students and 2.3 million vocational school-level students. The training scale has contributed to increasing the proportion of labor trained with national certificates to 26.2% by the second quarter of 2022.

The quality of vocational training has gradually improved, in response to the labor demand of enterprises and the labor market. The vocational skills of learners have been enhanced, and about 80% of graduates have found suitable jobs or created their own jobs, participating in most sectors of the economy.

In some occupations (such as welding, electronics, telecommunications, logistics, tourism, and oil and gas), the vocational skills of Vietnamese workers meet the requirements of foreign-invested enterprises and they can take on many complex positions that used to be performed by foreign experts.

However, compared to other countries in the region and the world, Vietnam has a low proportion of trained labor, only reaching slightly above 26% in 2021. In international comparisons, Vietnam's skills pillar ranking and vocational training quality index are among the lowest in ASEAN. To improve the quality of the workforce to meet the country's socio-economic development requirements, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has emphasized that it will continue to review, evaluate, and invest in improving the capacity of the vocational education and training system, particularly in training high-quality human resources. The Ministry has also announced that it will propose regional linkage models, establish regional training centers, and establish national training centers in key economic regions.

In 2019, the number of vocational education and training (VET) institutes in Vietnam declined due to the implementation of Resolution 19-NQ/TW, which aimed to reform the organizational and managerial structure of public service providers and improve their quality and productivity. Ministries and localities carried out scans of VET institutes under their management according to Government Decrees 143/2016/ND-CP and 140/2018/ND-CP. Any VET institutes that did not meet the prescribed requirements or underperformed had to undergo a restructuring process. Some ministries merged VET institutes in the same geographical areas, while local governments merged secondary VET schools into colleges and dissolved underperforming ones. Other ministries and localities continued the scanning process while awaiting instructions from relevant authorities.

Resolution 19-NQ/TW calls for the consolidation of secondary vocational education and training (VET) schools into colleges and the dissolution of underperforming VET schools and colleges. It also specifies that each province should have only one focal point for public VET, and at the district level, continuing education centers, career orientation centers, and VET centers should be merged into a single VET center. In accordance with this directive, the total number of VET institutes decreased from 1,948 in 2018 to 1,907 in December 2019. As a result, the number of colleges and secondary vocational education and training (VET) schools moved in the opposite directions between 2017 and 2019. The number of colleges increased by five over this period, while the number of secondary VET schools decreased significantly by 22 in 2018 and another 56 in 2019.

In order to restructure the vocational education and training (VET) network, ministries have focused on merging VET institutes that are located in the same geographical areas and offer similar training programs. For example, the Cam Pha College of Industry was merged with the College of Industry and Construction under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Similarly, the Secondary College of Fisheries was merged with the Southern College of Agriculture under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In several local governments such as Hung Yen, Soc Trang, Binh Phuoc, Vinh Long, and Lao Cai, the restructuring process involved merging teacher training colleges with other VET institutes. Additionally, local governments merged several secondary VET schools and colleges into new colleges, which was a significant contributing factor to the sharp decline of secondary VET schools in 2019.

Table 3.1 Restructuring the network of TVET institutes in 2019

Hung Yen province	Hung Yen community college was established from the merger of Hung Yen teacher training college and Hung Yen college arts, culture and tourism;
Soc Trang province	The teacher training college, the secondary school of arts and culture, and the secondary school of medicine were merged into the Soc Trang community college
Binh Phuoc province	Binh Phuoc college was established on the basis of the merger of the province’s teacher training college, vocational college and medical college
Vinh Long province	Vinh Long College was established from the merger of Vinh Long teacher training college, Vinh Long secondary school of medicine, and Vinh Long community college
Tra Vinh province	The Tra Vinh boarding secondary VET school for ethnic minorities and the Tra Vinh secondary school of arts and sports were merged into the Tra Vinh vocational college
Lai Chau province	The boarding secondary VET school for ethnic minorities and the secondary school of medicine were merged into the Lai Chau community college
Nam Dinh province	Nam Dinh college of economics and technology were established from the merger of i) Nam Dinh secondary school of trade, tourism and services, ii) Nam Dinh secondary school of agricultural technology and economics, iii) Nam Dinh secondary school of mechatronics, iv) Nam Dinh secondary school of traditional crafts, v) Nam Dinh secondary school of technology and communications, and vi) Nam Dinh college of technology
MOIT	Cam Pha college of industry was merged into the collge of industry and construction
MARD	The secondary school of fisheries was merged into the Southern college of agriculture

Source: Vietnam VET Report 2019 (NIVT-National Institute for Vocational Education and Training).

According to Decision No. 761/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on May 23, 2014, approving the "Project on Development of High-Quality Vocational Schools until 2020," a vocational school is recognized as a high-quality school when it meets all of the following criteria evaluated by quality vocational education and training agencies:

Training scale: The minimum training scale is 2,000 students, including at least 30% of students studying priority trades, in intermediate and college-level vocational programs (converted into student numbers).
Employment after training: At least 80% of graduates have a job in their trained occupation within 6 months of graduation, with at least 90% of priority trades graduates employed.
Student achievement after training: 100% of intermediate and college-level vocational program graduates achieve a Level 2/5 and Level 3/5 of the national vocational skills standard, respectively. They also achieve the IC3 computer skills standard and a TOEIC score of 300 or equivalent in English proficiency. Graduates of priority trades programs, which are transferred from foreign countries, must achieve a TOEIC score of 450 or equivalent, and have their degrees or certificates recognized by respected education and training organizations in the ASEAN region or internationally.
Quality assurance: The school achieves Level 3 of the college-level vocational program quality assurance standard, and 100% of vocational programs meet the quality assurance standard.
Teachers and instructors: 100% of teachers meet the required standards, with IC3 computer skills and a TOEIC score of 350 or equivalent in English proficiency. Teachers of priority trades have a TOEIC score of 450 or equivalent.
School management: 100% of school management staff are certified in vocational education management. School management activities and the priority trades program are digitized and simulated using advanced software technologies.

The list of vocational schools prioritized for concentrated investment according to this plan includes:

Table 3.2 List of vocational schools prioritized for concentrated investment.

No.	College Name	Ministry/Agency	Location
1	Quy Nhon Vocational Training College	Binh Dinh	Binh Dinh
2	Ho Chi Minh City Vocational College	Ho Chi Minh City	Ho Chi Minh City
3	Viet Xo Construction Electrical Vocational College	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Ninh Binh
4	Agriculture Machinery Vocational College	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Vinh Phuc
5	Hanoi Industrial Vocational College	Hanoi	Hanoi
6	Technical - Technology Vocational College	Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs	Hanoi
7	Ba Ria - Vung Tau Technical College of Technology	Ba Ria - Vung Tau	Ba Ria - Vung Tau
8	Viet-Duc Vocational College	Vinh Phuc	Vinh Phuc
9	Vietnam-Korea Industrial Vocational College	Nghe An	Nghe An
10	Vocational College No. 3	Ministry of Defense	Hai Phong
11	Hanoi High Technology Vocational College	Hanoi	Hanoi
12	Nha Trang College of Technology	Khanh Hoa	Khanh Hoa
13	Can Tho Vocational College	Can Tho	Can Tho
14	Da Nang Vocational College	Da Nang	Da Nang
15	Vocational College No. 8	Ministry of Defense	Dong Nai
16	Construction Electrical and Agriculture Vocational College of Central Vietnam	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Binh Dinh
17	Viet-Duc Ha Tinh Vocational College	Ha Tinh	Ha Tinh
18	Central Transport Vocational College II	Ministry of Transport	Hai Phong
19	Technical - Technology Vocational College Ho Chi Minh City	Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs	Ho Chi Minh City
20	Hue Tourism College	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism	Thua Thien Hue
21	LILAMA 2 International Technology College	Ministry of Construction	Dong Nai
22	Phu Tho Vocational College of Mechanics and Electricity	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Phu Tho
23	Hai Phong Vocational College of Tourism	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism	Hai Phong
24	Yen Bai Vocational College	Yen Bai	Yen Bai
25	Vocational College No. 4 - Ministry of Defense	Ministry of Defense	Nghe An
26	Hai Duong Vocational College	Hai Duong	Hai Duong
27	Hung Vuong Technical Technology Vocational College	Ho Chi Minh City	Ho Chi Minh City
28	Hanoi Vocational College of Mechanics and Electricity	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Hanoi
29	Da Lat Vocational College	Lam Dong	Lam Dong
30	Central Highlands Technology College	Dak Lak	Dak Lak
31	Vocational College of Mechanics and Irrigation	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Dong Nai
32	Vietnam-Korea Bac Giang Vocational College	Bac Giang	Bac Giang
33	Central Transport Vocational College I	Ministry of Transport	Hanoi
34	Central Transport Vocational College III	Ministry of Transport	Ho Chi Minh City
35	Nam Dinh Vocational College	Nam Dinh	Nam Dinh
36	Ninh Binh Vocational College of Mechanics	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Ninh Binh
37	Vung Tau Vocational College of Tourism	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism	Ba Ria - Vung Tau
38	Nghệ An Vocational College of Tourism and Commerce	Nghệ An	Nghệ An
39	Ha Tinh Vocational College of Technology	Vietnam General Confederation of Labor	Ha Tinh
40	Kien Giang Vocational College	Kien Giang	Kien Giang
41	Vocational College No. 1 - Ministry of Defense	Ministry of Defense	Thai Nguyen
42	Vocational College No. 20 - Ministry of Defense	Ministry of Defense	Nam Dinh
43	Vocational College No. 5 - Ministry of Defense	Ministry of Defense	Da Nang
44	Bac Ninh College of Electrical Engineering and Construction	Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development	Bac Ninh
45	Vietnam-Singapore Vocational College	Binh Duong	Binh Duong

On August 1st, 2019, the General Department of Vocational Education and Training (under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs) announced the establishment of a vocational training program for 22 professions based on German standards at 45 colleges nationwide. The participating colleges have strengths in the relevant fields, providing many advantages for graduates in terms of employment opportunities.

Table 3.3 The 22 professions and 45 training colleges

No.	Field of Study	Institution(s)
1	Mechanical equipment maintenance	- Dung Quat Vocational College of Technology, - Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technology College
2	Seafood processing and preservation	- College of Economics, Technology, and Fisheries
3 4	Mechanical equipment manufacturing Ship hull manufacturing technology	- Lilama 2 International Technology College, Lilama 1 Vocational College
3 4		- Central Transport College II
5	Metal cutting	- Vietnam-Germany Industrial College, - Hanoi Electromechanical College, - Central Vietnam Commercial and Technical College, Vietnam-Singapore Vocational College, - Ninh Binh Mechanical College, Ba Ria - Vung Tau College of Technology and Engineering, - Agricultural Machinery Vocational College, - Ho Chi Minh City Commercial College
6	Automotive Technology	- Hanoi College of High Technology, - Hanoi Industrial College, - Ly Tu Trong Technical College, - Vietnam-Korea Industrial and Technical College, - Vietnam-Germany Technical College in Ha Tinh, - Can Tho Vocational College, - Nha Trang College of Technology, - Technical College II, - Agricultural Mechanics Vocational College
7	Industrial electricity	- Hanoi College of Electromechanics - Hue Industrial College, - College of Mechanical and Irrigation Engineering, - Thu Duc College of Technology, - Industrial and Commercial College (Phuc Yen Industrial College), - Nha Trang College of Technology, - Ha Tinh College of Technology.
8	Ship navigation control	Maritime College I
8	Ship navigation control	Maritime College II
9	Wood product manufacturing and design	Northeast Technology and Agriculture College
9	Wood product manufacturing and design	Yen Bai Vocational College
10	Welding technology	Viet Xo Vocational College No. 1
		Vietnam Maritime University
		Lilama 1 Vocational College
		Ba Ria - Vung Tau College of Technology
		Lilama 2 International College of Technology
		Vocational College II
11	Ship machinery exploitation technology	Maritime College I
11	Ship machinery exploitation technology	Maritime College II
12	Food processing technology	Hanoi Tourism College
		Hai Phong Tourism College
		Nha Trang Tourism College
		Nghe An Tourism and Trade College
		Vung Tau Tourism College
		Da Nang Tourism College
		Hue Tourism College
13	Installation of mechanical equipment	Lilama 2 International College of Technology
14	Hospitality Management	Hanoi Tourism College
		Da Nang Tourism College
		Hai Phong Tourism College
		Kien Giang Vocational College
		Vung Tau Tourism College
15	Front Office Management	Nha Trang Tourism College
15	Front Office Management	Nghe An College of Commerce and Tourism
16	Repairing ship engines and machinery	Waterway Transportation College II
17	Operating foundation construction machinery	Central College of Transport and Communications I
17	Operating foundation construction machinery	Mechanical and Hydraulic Engineering College
18	Fashion design	Nam Dinh Industrial College
19	Operation of Petroleum Processing Equipment	Dung Quat Vocational College translation into English
20	Electric Marine Transportation	The central vocational college of transport no.2
21	Construction Engineering	Ho Chi Minh City College of Construction.
21	Construction Engineering	Urban Construction College of Construction.
22	Operation of road construction machinery	The central vocational college of transport no.6

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-dao-tao-22-nghe-theo-tieu-chuan-duc-20190801175602339.htm

3.Opportunities for reforming Vietnam’s TVET

3.1 The policy on vocational training has gone through fundamental changes, and vocational education has received more attention.

The vocational training policy and legal framework in Vietnam has undergone fundamental changes in recent years to meet the higher requirements for improving labor resource quality. As of 2019, a total of 63 legal documents and guidelines, including 05 decrees, 05 decisions of the Prime Minister, 45 ministerial circulars have been issued and in effect. The Law on Vocational Education 2014 introduces critical points on classification of vocational qualifications, organizational structure of vocational training, elimination of umbrella programs, more autonomy in training program specification, tax incentives such as corporate income tax deduction for enterprises participate in vocational education, priorities in accessing to land and governmental purchases, recognizing credit-based training, etc. In addition, the Government introduced the National Qualification Framework for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) qualifications for period 2021-2025 (Decision 1982/QD-TTg, 2016) to standardize training qualifications, minimum training time and appropriate certificates; matching the requirements on labor quality with the training system; linking national qualifications to that of regional countries as well as facilitating mutual recognition.

The Government has also issued a Vocational Education Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030 and vision to 2045 (Decision No. 2239/QD-TTg, 2021) which supports Vietnam in approaching the skill training level of ASEAN4, and raising the proportion of trained workers to 30% from the current level of about 25%. A set of measures have been proposed in this strategy, focusing on (i) accelerating digital transformation, modernizing facilities/equipment and innovation of training programs and methods; (ii) improving vocational teachers’ capacity; (iii) linking TVET with businesses and the labor market… These are quite new solutions compared to previous documents and reflecting the fundamental changes in the TVET management and development.

3.2 Changes in the mind-set regarding TVET

Along with improving the policy system, the mindset regarding TVET has also changed and is expected to continue changing towards a more positive direction in the future. These changes are specifically seen in the mobilization of funding resources, in a more market-based training approach and in changes in the learners' mindsets.

Change in resource mobilization: It can be noted that resource mobilization in vocational training has been changed over time, from mainly relying on the state budget during a couple of decades after the early 1990s, to gradually seen public funding as a catalyst for mobilizing other sources of funding, e.g. the community and the business sector. MOLISA reports show that, while the expenditure from the state budget increased by about 1.6 times between 2014 and 2018 (from VND139.9 trillion to VND229), the revenue from tuition fees increased by 3.2 times (from VND 1.52 trillion to VND 4.89 trillion) over the same period. Simultaneously, funding from businesses and other entities have also increased.

Change in the mindset of vocational training: With the growing number of vocational training institutions, there is increasing competition between them in attracting students, which has made students and student satisfaction more important. The change in the mindset of training institutions toward more market-based services can be observed in the way they have improved training capacity as well as training programs, especially increasing diversification in enrolment conditions. For example, unlike in the past when only high school graduates were eligible to enroll in vocational training, now the door is open also for middle-secondary school and upper-secondary school students. They also can enroll in training programes at different leves of quality and complexity, linking enrolment with recruitment programes (Huong, 2022).

Change in students' mindsets about career decisions: Although the perception that it is “necessary to go to university” still has been prevalent among young people, there are signs of change where many of them are now prepared to choose vocational training if it is relevant for their learning capability and interests. This is a positive signal showing a change in thinking and awareness of parents and students (Linh, 2021). In addition, more open job opportunities and the support policies of the government also motivate increasing numbers of students to choose vocational training instead of university.

3.3 Continuous learning opportunities

Since 2015, according to the revised training regulations for university transfer students by the Ministry of Education and Training under Circular 55, students who have completed their studies in intermediate or college education can transfer to university immediately after graduation. The conditions for candidates transferring from colleges to universitiwa are specified as follows: Graduates from intermediate or college education can pursue university-level programs in their respective fields of interest or in other fields if they meet the requirements of the training program.

Regarding the value of the degree after transferring from college to university: Article 1, Clause 23 of the amended University Education Law in 2018, which took effect on July 1, 2019, states that university degrees obtained through regular, in-service, online, or transfer programs have the same value. As of March 1, 2020, the new Circular of the Ministry of Education and Training do no longer indicate the form of training on the university degree.

The regulations on transferring educational credits between vocational and university programs is an important opportunity for employees to access higher educations after some years of working. Selecting a vocational education program does not mean closing the door to continuing education. This has given TVET institutes the opportunity enroll more students with high entry qualifications. The regulations are also helpful for addressing the problems related to layed-off middle-aged workers from the manufacturing sector, who may have opportunities for re-skilling and continued training.

4.Challenges for the TVET system

4.1 Rapid changes in labour demand

The advent of Industry 4.0 and the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to have a significant impact on the labor market in Vietnam and globally. According to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), around 80% of businesses worldwide are expected to increase remote work and digitization over the next five years. Automation is also expected to increase by 50%, which will require workers to be retrained to meet the new job requirements (WEF, 2021). Sectors that rely on unskilled workers in Vietnam are expected to be particularly vulnerable to job losses.

A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) predicts that during Industry 4.0, between 20% to 40% of workers in Vietnam could be transferred to other types of jobs or become unemployed or underemployed (ILO, 2018). It is estimated that between 8 to 16 million workers will be affected by Industry 4.0 implementation between 2018 and 2025 (ILO, 2018). Furthermore, free trade agreements (FTAs) will also create both opportunities and challenges for employment in Vietnam. While FTAs can help promote the export of labor-intensive goods, such as textiles, footwear, and electronic assembly, they can also pose challenges to structural transformation of employment (Dang & Truong, 2020).

The rapid pace of change in labor demand is also a significant challenge for vocational training. Business owners are adjusting their workforce more quickly due to rapidly changing business conditions, plans, and strategies. Therefore, employee layoffs are not always related to performance, but also driven by changes in business strategy. This requires employees to not only have in-depth knowledge in narrow fields, but also the general skills to quickly adapt to the changing work environment. For vocational training to meet these challenges, it is necessary to provide learners with both vocational skills and skills to adapt to change (Dang & Truong, 2020).

4.2 Low labour quality and low labour training

The number of trained, qualified, and certified laborers in Vietnam tends to increase every year. In 2000, the proportion of workers with skill certificate was only 10.4% of the total labor force, equivalent to about 3.5 million people. This rate increased reached 22.5% in 2018, equivalent to about 12.5 million. Although the proportion of trained workers has increased continuously in recent years, it is still lower than in other countries in the region and lower than the requirement for economic development. In fact, recently Vietnam has struggled because of the poor employment quality, particularly with low technical and professional skills. Vietnam belongs to the group of countries that are not ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, ranking 70/100 in terms of human resources and 81/100 in terms of highly skilled labor. In a Southeast Asian comparison, Vietnam’s rank is behind Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in human resource quality. In the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) report 2018, Vietnam’s rank is as low as 97/140 for the skills of workers. The education level of the labor force ranks 98th, the quality of vocational training is at the 115^th position; skills of students and graduates ranks at 128; and the ease of finding skilled workers in the labor market is placed at position 104. Although Vietnam's average number of years of schooling is 7.6, much higher than Cambodia (4.6), the worker skill index is more or less similar reflecting the poor performance of the schooling and vocational training system.

4.3 Unbalanced labor structure

Beside the low level of skilled worker, recent analyses show that there are many weaknesses in the labor structure that require great investment in vocational education.

First, untrained labor accounts for a very high share of the labor force (75%) and is slow to change, falling by only about 1 percentage point per year.

Second, the ratio of university-intermediate-primary skilled workers refers to the proportion of workers in a country's labor force who have completed a tertiary education (university), completed a vocational or technical education (intermediate), or have completed a primary education (primary). This ratio provides insight into the level of education and skills possessed by the workforce in a country.

In developed countries, the ratio of university-intermediate-primary skilled workers is typically 1-4-10 or 1-4-20, which means that for every one worker with a university degree, there are four workers with an intermediate education and ten or twenty workers with a primary education. In Vietnam, the ratio was 1-1.2-0.9 in 2000 and 1-0.3-0.4 in 2018, indicating a lower proportion of skilled workers with intermediate and primary education compared to university-educated workers.

This suggests that Vietnam is facing a shortage of skilled and technical workers with intermediate and primary qualifications, which can lead to a mismatch between the skills possessed by workers and the demands of the labor market. This mismatch has become more significant, especially among workers with a university degree or higher, with a growing number of highly educated workers taking jobs that require lower technical expertise.

The issue of skills mismatch in the Vietnamese labor force has been identified in various studies, including the General Statistics Office of Vietnam's report in 2018 (GSO, 2018).

Third, regarding economic sectors, workers with a skill certificate in the agricultural sector - which accounts for more than 40% of the labor force – make up only 6% of the total number of workers with skill certificates. The low percentage of workers with technical expertise in the agricultural sector poses great challenges for the efforts to improve labor productivity and agricultural competitiveness. More than 70% of the workers with skill certification are concentrated in the service sector, although the service sector accounts for only 34% of the total workforce. The manufacturing sector accounts for about 20& of the workers with skill certificates.

Vietnam also has a shortage of highly qualified workers for senior positions.. Recent firm interviews suggest that most of the senior management and technical positions at FDI enterprises are held by foreigners because it has not been possible to recruit suitable workers in Vietnam. For example, at Nghi Son Cement factory (Thanh Hoa province), key positions are held by Japanese employees as firms cannot find Vietnamese that meet the requirements. The total salary of 20 Japanese employees working in this factory is equal to the aggregate salary of nearly 2,000 Vietnamese working there. In some other types of high-end services, such as banking and healthcare, up to 40% of the total number of employees have an income of 14,000 USD/year or more, but most of those positions are currently occupied by foreigners (Hao, 2020).

4.4 Low training capacity and quality

One of the main challenges in the education sector is the poor quality of TVET institutions. In addition to weak facilities, many vocational training institutions have weak teachers and administrative staff at various levels, and training programs that are obsoleteand rarely updated. There is also a shortage of professional management among the TVET organizations[1].

Poor facilities in vocational schools: Although the government has paid critically attention to improvement of facilities in vocational schools (Box), recent assessments (ADB, 2020) indicate that only a few schools have modern facilities and machines, and that most of the remaining institutions have outdated and insufficient equipment (Hằng T. , 2021). An assessment by ADB (2020) of a sample of more than 10 institutions indicates that outdated or insufficient training facilities appear to negatively affect employer ratings of Viet Nam’s TVET system. It gives cause to concern that technical facilities and means of teaching and learning do not meet the requirements for high-quality training and/or are not sufficient in scope to allow appropriate hands-on training activities for all students enrolled in a course. Even comparatively well-equipped colleges report that they are facing “challenges in improving and innovating training programs in key technical sectors due to difficulties in practice equipment”. Assessments from student in those institutions reveal that that they had to take turns when doing practice at college workshops and only worked at a machine about once or twice during five practical learning sessions. As an example, although there were 9 machines in facility, only 4 or 5 functioned properly for a group of 6 to 10 students. Similar findings have been collected during field visits to TVET colleges during the preparation of this report. There are even reports that some institutions have regularly conducted night shifts for practical workshops in teacher training programs to deal with the lack of appropriate training facilities. This is partly due to overlaps in vocational training, partly due to budget constraints. Therefore, the improvement of facilities for vocational training requires promoting the socialization of investment capital, encouraging private investment to ensure the quality of facilities for vocational training, in addition to investing in the right place.

Box 1. Public investment in vocational schools

In order to strengthen the capacity of VTET, the government has implemented the project "Improving quality of vocational education (TVET)" for the period 2016-2020 with a total budget of about VND12.2 trillion with various activities such as building a central career data center, providing teaching equipment to more than 180 vocational schools, standardizing the teaching staff, sending teacher abroad for training, building and transferring vocational training programs etc. According to the data of the Directorate of Vocational Education (belonging to MOLISA) after over 3 years of implementation, the project has supported investment in facilities and training equipment for 181 beneficiary schools with a budget of more than VND1,826 billion, accounting for 57% of the total budget allocated for the Project. The project has provided investment for 45 vocational schools that are prioritized for becoming high-quality schools (Decision No. 761/QD-TTg, 2014) with a budget of more than 1,076 billion VND. In addition, it has provided support for 27/30 specialized schools for training in specific occupations for the marine economy and for schools that have a large number of ethnic minorities or disable people. In addition to these interventions, the Project supported investment in 104 schools selected for key sectors and occupations with an amount of VND498 billion, accounting for 27 % of funds.

Source: https://tapchitaichinh.vn/kip-thoi-ho-tro-kinh-phi-dau-tu-co-so-vat-chat-cho-cac-truong-day-nghe.html

Backward teaching methods: According to recent assessments, the traditional teaching methods in Vietnam's TVET system are in need of innovation to better serve learners' practical skills and competencies (Bac et al., 2021). In the past, teachers predominantly delivered knowledge through lectures, but this approach may not be sufficient for vocational education. Instead, a more learner-centered approach is recommended, which allows learners to engage in diverse activities in and outside of the classroom, leading to more opportunities for self-study, self-discovery, and the development of innovative and creative thinking (Bui et al., 2021).

Adopting a learner-centered approach is crucial for vocational education as it involves shorter theoretical study time and more practice time, helping learners acquire competencies relevant to their future careers (Tran & Doan, 2021). Additionally, learners who participate in a learner-centered environment develop confidence, self-esteem, and a comprehensive personality that prepares them for the workforce (Bac et al., 2021).

Lack of connections between vocational training and businesses: Enterprises make up the market for vocational education and training activities, and are also the places for updating skills to the latest standards. Therefore, connecting vocational training with businesses is important, not only to help guide vocational training programs, and to ensure that students get jobs after graduation, but also to improve the quality of vocational training. Because of this, the recent cooperation between schools and businesses is a step in the right direction. At the same time, learners feel more confident while learning because of the more practical knowledge delivered when businesses are involved in programs, and the improved possibilities to get a job soon after the completion of the training program.

The benefits of the school-enterprise connection in vocational training are obvious from the perspective of making vocational training more realistic and practical and can help businesses be more proactive with regard to human resources. However, in Vietnam this type of collaboration is still a big challenge. The first constraint is the difficulty in establishing the connection between schools and enterprises. Despite the Government’s efforts to encourage enterprises to participate in vocational training activities[2], many businesses have not been interested in it, the share of enterprises cooperating with training institutions has been below 10%, although the share of enterprises having vocational training for employees was close to 40%. (Tư, 2019). Secondly, it is observable that there are many enterprises that are not fully aware of the responsibilities and benefits from cooperating with training institutions. Many of them (especially FDI enterprises) are using low-skilled labor that only need to go through short training courses conducted by enterprises themselves. It is difficult to attract or require these enterprises to cooperate with training institutions simply on the basis of their current demand for skills and training. In addition, many enterprises do not trust the quality of vocational training, and often conduct in-house training instead. Thirdly, there is a weak legal framework and ineffective support policies from the government making it difficult for most vocational institution to find business partners or maintain relationships.

The lack of linkages between vocational schools and businesses is likely to cause long-term losses for the economy as a whole. The poor quality of human resources and the lack of systematic vocational training will hinder Vietnam from effectively developing the vocational training for occupations that have increasingly high demand in the future.

4.5 Requirements for digital transformation in vocational education

Digital transformation in vocational education is the implementation of vocational education activities in an electronic and digital environment, promoting the application of information technology in all management, teaching and control activities. This is an ongoing trend that is emphasized in recent strategies but that also poses many opportunities and challenges for TVET. The opportunity for vocational education is that digital transformation creates the conditions for fundamentally changing vocational training patterns, the contents, and the methods of teaching and learning, thereby increasing productivity and saving costs for both schools and learners. At the same time, digital transformation creates opportunities for learners to participate in training regularly in an open and flexible learning environment.

However, digital transformation also creates many challenges. First, it requires changing the perception of each individual and training institution. Second, building a workforce of teachers, lesson plans, and curricula for digital vocational education is a formidable challenge given the current limited capacity of the TVET system.. There are also a number of other challenges related to the digitization of data and documents used by training institutions, and the legality of transactions and teaching on digital platforms. The lack of synchronization of digital infrastructure and investment conditions within and across TVET institutions also pose significant challenges to digital transformation.

4.6 Large ineffective labour market

In Vietnam, the labor market has recently seen an increasing polarization with two parallel trends, including a low-skill - low-wage group, and a high-skill - high-wage group. This is not only of concern to low-skilled workers, who risk getting trapped in an unfavorable situation, but also middle-skilled workers who are likely to be drawn into the same situation if they are not equipped with knowledge and creative skills to adapt to change. Training in high-quality programs is still in short supply, which has made it very difficult to meet the requirements of key economic sectors and to to build competitiveness in the context of global integration and competition. The adaptability of the system is not sufficient to keep up with the changes in science and technology, especially the fourth industrial revolution and risks such as the Covid-19 pandemic (Hằng P. , 2022).

Qualification mismatches remain large, which is in particular a problem related to under-education. Quang and Nam (2020), using labor force survey data, find that Vietnam has a rather high incidence of under-education (56.1%) compared to over-education (11.3%), because a large proportion of the population in rural and remote areas do not having access to formal education. Furthermore, the qualification mismatch has an asymmetric effect on earnings in the sense that the wage rate is flexible downward but rigid upward, implying that mismatched workers also suffer from significant wage penalty. In 2020, according to survey results and the monthly, quarterly and annual reports of the Youth Union, nearly 90% of students and graduates have jobs, but only about 60% have jobs that correctly match their training and qualifications.

Another issue is that there are substantial barriers for labor migration within and between different regions of the country. Due to the unbalanced distribution of economic activities, a large labor force has migrated to developed and active economic regions in the Red River Delta and the South-East. Most of this is made up of temporary migrant who face difficulties in accessing public services (e.g. education for children, healthcare). Furthermore, neither the government, nor the business sector has paid enough attention to developing public facilities (kindergartens, primary schools, sport and entertainment facilities) in the industrial zones where most migrants are working.

Furthermore, due to labor redundancy, it is hard for middle-age workers to find a job as well as to participate vocational training. This applies for both skilled and unskilled labor. Apart from relevant skills and competence, most companies have requirement or at least strong preferences regarding the age of job candidates: they normally prefer young people who are not only better able to manage in fast-paced assembly jobs but are also paid lower salaries.

4.7 Need for re-skilling and life-long training

Every year, large numbers of “older” workers are being laid-off from their jobs in the manufacturing sector because of declining relative productivity. In this context, the term “older” often refers to people in the 35-45 age bracket-who should reasonably be expected to work for an additional 20-25 years. The number of workers involved is large. According to a report from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, as of December 2022, about 1.1 million workers lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

In terms of industries, the manufacturing industry has the highest number of laid-off workers in Vietnam. This is due to various factors such as the economic downturn, competition from other countries, technological changes, and fierce competition among manufacturing factories, which leads to a high-paced and stressful work environment.

To address this issue, the government and relevant organizations should implement specific measures to help laid-off workers overcome difficulties and find new jobs. Some solutions include labor policy reform, enhancing training and skill development for workers, financial support, and creating a favorable labor market environment for businesses to seek new labor resources.

In addition, companies themselves should bear some responsibility for their laid-off workers. They can offer training courses and career orientation, provide support for job seeking, and establish a social security fund to assist workers in need.

5. Recommendations and Conclusion

The Strategy for Development of Vocational Education (Decision 2239/QD-TTg, 2021) for the period 2021-2030 has been discussed, together with various policy challenges and potential solutions to develop TVET in Vietnam. On the basis of the main findings of this Report and insights from the other work packages of the Vietskill project , we wish to call attention to the following policy implications (in addition to the need for effective implementation of the Strategy for Development of Vocational Education.

5.1 Continuously improving the legal and policy framework for TVET

Recognizing that the legal and policy framework and the state management of TVET have improved notable in the past few years, more attention should focus on the following aspects:

Standardizing training and labour qualifications: It is of critical importance to effectively implement the occupational standards defined in Vietnam National Qualification Framework (Decision 1982/QD-TTg, 2016) and the national set of occupational skill standards (annually issued). Those qualification standards must be fully disseminated to to labor, training institutions and the business community in in line with detailed action plans. From the government side, it is necessary to seek to implement mutual recognition of qualifications and vocational skills with countries in the region and the world, especially ASEAN-4 countries and G20 economies, and to supplement higher levels of TVET to meet labour market needs and international trends.

Providing stronger incentives and defining responsibilities of enterprises engaging in the TVET sector, including financial incentives (income tax, land rent) for businesses to participate in vocational training and specifying the responsibilities of enterprises ireceiving apprentices. The relevant authorities must https://www.msn.com/da-dk/feedcontinue to review and improve mechanisms and policies to promote participation of enterprises in training with focus on new developments such as Industry 4.0.

Enhancing the capacity and activities of local authorities in implementing training policies for workers and in supporting vocational schools.

5.2 Financial mechanisms to mobilize resources for TVET programs

Recognizing that the state budget is still the main funding source for vocational training, it is necessary to enhance the efficiency of the use of public funds. Special attention should be paid to: (i) Re-structuring the state budget expenditure for vocational training development to increase funding for training in remote and difficulties regions, for training in professions that are not highly demanded by the business sector but necessary for society, or for vulnerable population groups. (ii) Reforming the planning and budgeting process by introducing a performance-based approach. (iii) Seeking and obtaining foreign support for vocational training

Enhancing the mobilization of financial resources from the community, focusing on increasing the revenue from tuition and fees. Given the diverse tuition fee mechanisms between institutions depending on the level of autonomy and distinctions between state-owned and privately-owned institutions, a key consideration should be to use tuition fees to promote the sectoral/occupational priorities of the government. Another urgent need is to define the mechanism for tuition fee exemptions/scholarships.

Mobilize financial resources from businesses/individuals: The government should encourage businesses and individuals to invest in vocational education and training in order to improve the capacity of vocational schools. Two issues are of central importance. The first is the continued privatization of state-owned vocational training institutions and the second is to encourage the involvement of businesses and individuals in the operations of TVET institutions. Key requirements for privatization are to complete the legal framework for valuing land, trade marks, and other assets, and to establish fair and transparent policies for how personnel will be treated after privatization. Stronger enterprise participation requires mechanisms for recognition of contributions and joint management, as well as increased autonomy for training institutions to respond to local conditions. Furthermore, part of the responsibility for fund raising and collaborations with the private sector lies with training institutions themselves. Issues such as internal management, the quality of vocational training, and prestige and brand value are important for attracting collaborators, investors, and sponsors.

Mobilizing foreign financial resources: It is necessary to reform ODA management principles so that private vocational training institute are also able to access foreign support. Furthermore, there is a need to simplify the procedures for establishing technical cooperation and investment partnerships between domestic training institutions and foreign partners.

5.3 Improve infrastructure and, facilities, and promote digital transformation for TVET

To improve teaching quality, it is necessary for training institutions to upgrade their equipment to modern standards by increasing the investment budget. The government should simplify the procurement procedures for TVET purposes. In addition, the scale and scope of the Targeted Program for Vocational Training for Rural Labor and the Project on Enhancing the Vocational Training Quality should be extended.

Encouraging enterprises to contribute equipment for teaching and training to TVET institutions. Vocational training institutions should have medium and long-term equipment purchase plans. These will make it possible to identify priorities for replacing old/obsolete equipment. Well defined plans will also help in attracting further investment from the business sector.

Accelerating the digital transformation of TVET institutions is a necessary step for modernizing the TVET sector in Vietnam. The most important task in the short- to medium term is to effectively implement the Program for digital transformation in vocational training that has already been decided by the government (Decision 2222/QD-TTg, 2021).

5.4 Strengthen international cooperation

Strengthening international cooperation in vocational training activities must be carried out simultaneously at both the central and local levels of government as well within the training institutions themselves. Actors should be encouraged to promote and expand cooperative relations in vocational training in order to exchange positive and relevant experiences from abroad and to mobilize resources for TVET development in Vietnam.

Training institutions should promote joint ventures and collaboration with foreign partners in vocational training and scientific research; prepare teams of qualified staff members to effectively implement projects; and take advantage of available capital sources to upgrade facilities and teaching equipment to improve capacity and quality of teaching and training.

The training programs should be developed and adjusted based on the actual training needs, which may differ across regions and types of jobs. Although a demand-based training approach has been emphasized, it has not yet been widely used, in particular among state- owned TVET institutions. It is necessary to involve business enterprises in the demand specification processes of training institutions. Policymakers should identify, review, and replicate successful models of institution-enterprise cooperation, such as the model of FDI enterprises building schools in industrial zones.

Authorities should encourage and promote the establishment and development of joint training programs with foreign partners.

The evaluation of training programs should be developed and vocational training institutions should consult enterprises for the design and evaluation of training programs. Evaluations should also include the views of trainees at the end of the courses, as well as their employers. An initial step could be to focus on selected training programs in electronics and digitalization, where contacts with employers are already strong. Pilot programs could experiment with issuing qualification certificate to workers who acquire their skills from practical work experience.

5.5 Quality improvement of teacher, experts, vocational trainers and TVET managers

Vocational teaching staff are of key importance for improving training quality. The improvement of teacher quality can be obtained through standardizing teacher training, focusing on practical experience and professional competence, integrating core skills with soft skills and digital skills. To sustain teaching quality, periodic re-training and updating should be encouraged.

Procedures for allowing allowing experts from enterprises and research institutes to participate in vocational training should be simplified. TVET institutions should have the autonomy to decide about payments and benefits of experts participating in training activities.

The skills and managers of vocational education institutions should be strengthened with a focus on modern management and administrative skills, innovation, digital skills, and foreign language skills.

5.6 Developing re-skilling programs and life-long learning

Large number of workers who are still of working age are laid-off and forced to leave the manufacturing sector, which is a critical challenge for society. It is necessary to develop training programs aiming to re-skill this labor force so that the individuals can find new gainful employment in other sectors such as services, tourism, and hospitality.

The TVET system in Vietnam plays an essential role in equipping the workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the job market. However, as industries and technologies evolve, it is crucial for the TVET system to keep up with these changes to provide re-skilling training programs and life-long education opportunities. Several key steps should be taken to develop such programs in Vietnam.

Skills Needs Assessment: The first step in developing re-skilling programs and life-long learning in TVET is to conduct a skills needs assessment. This assessment identifies the skills and knowledge that are in demand in the job market and those that are likely to be in demand in the future. The assessment can be conducted through surveys of employers and analysis of labor market trends. The results of this assessment will inform the development of curriculum and training materials.

Curriculum and Training Materials Development: Based on the skills needs assessment, the TVET system can develop and update curriculum and training materials to ensure that they align with current and future industry needs. These materials should be designed to provide hands-on, practical training that is relevant to the needs of the industry. Additionally, they should be flexible to allow for adjustments as industry needs change.

TVET Teachers and Trainers Training: To deliver high-quality training programs, it is important to provide professional development opportunities for TVET teachers and trainers. These opportunities will ensure that they are equipped with the latest skills and knowledge to deliver effective training programs. Professional development can be provided through workshops, seminars, and other training programs.

Re-Skilling and Up-Skilling Training Programs: The TVET system can offer re-skilling and up-skilling programs to help workers transition to new industries or upgrade their skills to keep up with changing job requirements. These programs can include short-term training courses or longer-term programs, depending on the needs of the industry and the worker.

Partnerships with Industry: Collaboration with industry partners can help ensure that the TVET system is providing training that is relevant and up-to-date with industry needs. Industry partners can provide input into the development of curriculum and training materials, as well as provide opportunities for work-based learning and apprenticeships.

Life-long Learning: Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning can help ensure that workers are continually updating their skills and knowledge to adapt to changes in the job market. This can be achieved through promoting continuing education opportunities and incentivizing workers to pursue further training.

5.7 Other solutions

There is a need to develop and diversify communication on vocational training, which requires capacity building for communication officers in governmental organizations and vocational education institutions. The aim should be to effectively disseminate the information about reforms in vocational training in order to change the perception/mindset of society and young people about the value of TVET. A step here is strengthening the vocational advice/consultation at secondary school and tertiary school levels.

Foreign cooperation. The efficiency and volume of cooperation between Vietnam and foreign countries and multilateral organizations should be increased. There is a need to speed up negotiations, signing and implementation of cooperation agreements and programs with international partners and foreign-invested enterprises operating in Vietnam in the areas of TVET.

5.8 Recommendation for the electronics industry

To strengthen domestic engineering in electronics and related sectors, it is necessary to promote cooperation between domestic experts and overseas Vietnamese experts in the fields of teaching, program design and quality control, and to encourage the transfer of new technology and new products.

Financial incentives for FDI enterprises in the electronics sector should be adjusted. Currently, incentives for electronic FDI companies are mainly based on investment scale and total employment (Law on Investment, 2019). The incentives should be more favorable for firms providing intensive training for their labor Incentives can also be used to encourage FDI firm to provide TVET either by opening training schools or sending experts to Vietnamese training institution.

The specific mechanisms for training workers in the electronics industry, which has been determined in Resolution No. 26/NQ-CP (2015)[3], should be implemented effectively. This could include issuing a policy to attract overseas Vietnamese scientists and international IT experts to participate in training and scientific research, encouraging experts and technical staff, experienced in professional activities of enterprises, to participate in training of IT, and allowing training institutions to count experts as permanent lecturers in accordance with the proportion of time spent in training.

The role of relevant professional associations for promoting cooperation between training institutions and enterprises should be strengthened. IT training institutions should be encouraged to cooperate with businesses in the IT field to forecast labor demand, to build learning standards, and to provide students with knowledge and skills. The associations should be also encouraged to provide training facilities, cooperate and promote privatization of training institutions, and take a role in building laboratories and practice workshops.

Training institutions should be encouraged to establish cooperation agreements with enterprises that provide practice workshops. The facilities, equipment, and software of the enterprise can be used to improve students' practical skills and practical application. TVET instittuions should also be encouraged to facilitate agreements with enterprises on allowing enterprise experts to participate in teaching, practical guidance, internships, assessment of student learning results and recruitment of students after graduation.

TVET institutions should be encouraged to establish training programs leading to prestigious and internationally recognized vocational certificates (for example, certificates of Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, etc.). Institutions should enhance IT application in training, apply online training, blended learning, and hands-on training at enterprises. Developing common and shared online training systems and building shared training resources (especially shared e-learning) would be valuable. Training institutions are encouraged to mutually recognize each other's credits. Similarly, mutual recognition of university credits and corresponding and equivalent certification from IT training courses in TVET institutions is recommended.

5.9 Recommendations for the food processing industry

Surveys completed during the current research process have shown substantial differences between labor at different stages of the fishery value chain as well as between the food processing and electronics sectors at large. A majority of labor in aquaculture and fisheries have cumulated skills through practices rather than skills through training. Their knowledge is largely based on relatively small-scalehoushold production. Large-scale industrialized production systems for fisheries and aquaculture are not taught in vocational schools. In seafood processing, there are some examples of larger-scale industrial processes, especially in FDI enterprises. Therefore, in order to meet the increasing demand for human resources for this key economic sector, the following measures are proposed:

- Effectively implementing and taking advantage of the Vocational Training Program for Rural Labor (managed by MOLISA) in coastal areas in order to use the training funds in this Program for the labor force in aquaculture and fisheries.

- Focusing on forecasting and analysis of ongoing investment and fishing aquaculture trends, especially in terms of production scale and skill demand for aquaculture, thereby designing appropriate labor training.

-Upgrading short-term courses conducted by fishery extension systems with the support from vocational training institutions. Regarding the content of the training programs, it is necessary to encourage cooperation with seafood processing establishments to develop processes and skills suitable to food hygiene and safety; Provide career guidance and vocational training for fishermen, particularly knowledge and legal guidance for reducing over-fishing or environment damage practices.

- For fisheries workers, it is necessary to focus on developing a long-term training strategy and retraining to sustain a qualified workforce and managers to adapt to the requirements of global integration. Financial support to fishermen to train captains, chief engineers, and crewmen in order to create a source of highly skilled labor who have the understanding on the regulations on exploitation and protection of aquatic resources, and ensure safety for workers at sea.

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Hằng, T. (2021, 5 17). Lãng phí cơ sở vật chất tại các trường nghề, trung tâm dạy nghề. Retrieved from Báo Thanh Hóa: https://baothanhhoa.vn/doi-song-xa-hoi/lang-phi-co-so-vat-chat-tai-cac-truong-nghe-trung-nbsp-tam-day-nghe/136569.htm

International Labour Organization. (2021). Vietnam Labor Force Survey 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_784415.pdf

International Labour Organization (ILO). (2018). The future of work in Vietnam: Opportunities and challenges in the digital era. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-hanoi/documents/publication/wcms_640659.pdf

Lê, N. (2022, 3 30). Xây dựng các chính sách phù hợp để hỗ trợ thanh niên trong đào tạo nghề. Retrieved from Đầu tư chứng khoán: https://www.tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn/xay-dung-cac-chinh-sach-phu-hop-de-ho-tro-thanh-nien-trong-dao-tao-nghe-post294201.html

Linh, M. (2021, 5 15). Đã có sự thay đổi tư duy trong lựa chọn ngành nghề. Retrieved from Tuyên Quang Online: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/cuoi-tuan/da-co-su-thay-doi-tu-duy-trong-chon-nganh-nghe-144770.html

Resolution 19-NQ/TW on continuing to renovate and improve the quality and effectiveness of the political system from the central to grassroots levels." Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper, April 20, 2019.

Raihan, D. M. (2014, October). Collaboration between TVET institutions and industries in Bangladesh to enhance employability skills. International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR), 2(10).

Trần Quang Chỉnh, N. T. (2022, 10 14). Chuyển dịch nhanh cơ cấu lao động - nhiệm vụ quan trọng trong quá trình công ngheiepj hóa, hiện đại hóa. Retrieved from Tạp chí Lao động & Xã hội: http://laodongxahoi.net/chuyen-dich-nhanh-co-cau-lao-dong-nhiem-vu-quan-trong-trong-qua-trinh-cong-nghiep-hoa-hien-dai-hoa-1325166.html

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[1] Most learners are high school graduates from poor families who choose vocational schools to find themselves a certain profession. In addition, those who failed the university entrance exam might want to find a school to attend and wait until next year to take the exam again. This has partly affected the quality of the education and training process. On the other hand, secondary schools and colleges do not organize entrance exams, mainly recruit students by looking at their school profile and group them into different levels of training, there is no consensus on qualifications, and the admitted students are divided into different majors. This also partly affects the implementation of vocational training policy.

[2] Enterprises are allowed to set up TVET institutes, participate in training courses at primary, intermediate and college levels; participate in developing training programs, organizing teaching, guiding practice, Along with that, tax incentives for enterprises participating in vocational education activities are also provided, including corporate income tax, value added tax, import and export tax.

[3] Resolution No. 26/NQ-CP (2015) of the Government promulgating the Action Program to implement Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2014 of the Politburo on promoting technology application and development of information technology (IT) to meet the requirements of sustainable development and international integration; implementation of Decision No. 1755/QD-TTg (2010) on the Scheme "Early make Vietnam a strong country in information and communication technology"; implementing Directive No. 16/CT-TTg dated May 4, 2017 of the Prime Minister on strengthening capacity to approach the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Consumer beliefs and motives to buy healthy and sustainable seafood

Validating training models -final

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Policy report-Final

1. Introduction

2. Manufacturing labor force and TVET system of Vietnam

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-dao-tao-22-nghe-theo-tieu-chuan-duc-20190801175602339.htm

3.Opportunities for reforming Vietnam’s TVET

3.1 The policy on vocational training has gone through fundamental changes, and vocational education has received more attention.

3.2 Changes in the mind-set regarding TVET

3.3 Continuous learning opportunities

4.Challenges for the TVET system

4.1 Rapid changes in labour demand

4.2 Low labour quality and low labour training

4.3 Unbalanced labor structure

4.4 Low training capacity and quality

4.5 Requirements for digital transformation in vocational education

4.6 Large ineffective labour market

4.7 Need for re-skilling and life-long training

5. Recommendations and Conclusion

5.1 Continuously improving the legal and policy framework for TVET

5.2 Financial mechanisms to mobilize resources for TVET programs

5.3 Improve infrastructure and, facilities, and promote digital transformation for TVET

5.4 Strengthen international cooperation

5.5 Quality improvement of teacher, experts, vocational trainers and TVET managers

5.6 Developing re-skilling programs and life-long learning

5.7 Other solutions

5.8 Recommendation for the electronics industry

5.9 Recommendations for the food processing industry

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Feature Article

Forum "Developing professional skills for labors in the Food Processing Industry in Vietnam"

seminar "Developing professional skills for electronics workers in Vietnam"

Seminar on “Developing professional skills for labors in the food processing industry in Vietnam”

Seminar on “Developing professional skills for labors in the electronics industry in Vietnam”

Workshop: Future Labor Skills for Vietnamese Manufacturing: Food Processing Sector

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News - Vietskill

Policy report-Final

1. Introduction

2. Manufacturing labor force and TVET system of Vietnam

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-dao-tao-22-nghe-theo-tieu-chuan-duc-20190801175602339.htm

3.Opportunities for reforming Vietnam’s TVET

3.1 The policy on vocational training has gone through fundamental changes, and vocational education has received more attention.

3.2 Changes in the mind-set regarding TVET

3.3 Continuous learning opportunities

4.Challenges for the TVET system

4.1 Rapid changes in labour demand

4.2 Low labour quality and low labour training

4.3 Unbalanced labor structure

4.4 Low training capacity and quality

4.5 Requirements for digital transformation in vocational education

4.6 Large ineffective labour market

4.7 Need for re-skilling and life-long training

5. Recommendations and Conclusion

5.1 Continuously improving the legal and policy framework for TVET

5.2 Financial mechanisms to mobilize resources for TVET programs

5.3 Improve infrastructure and, facilities, and promote digital transformation for TVET

5.4 Strengthen international cooperation

5.5 Quality improvement of teacher, experts, vocational trainers and TVET managers

5.6 Developing re-skilling programs and life-long learning

5.7 Other solutions

5.8 Recommendation for the electronics industry

5.9 Recommendations for the food processing industry

Previous Post

Next Post

Categories News

Feature Article

Forum "Developing professional skills for labors in the Food Processing Industry in Vietnam"

seminar "Developing professional skills for electronics workers in Vietnam"

Seminar on “Developing professional skills for labors in the food processing industry in Vietnam”

Seminar on “Developing professional skills for labors in the electronics industry in Vietnam”

Workshop: Future Labor Skills for Vietnamese Manufacturing: Food Processing Sector

Posts viewed