ILO/ADB report
Investing in more relevant education, technical training will move Viet Nam up on skills ladder
Viet Nam needs to improve the quality and relevance of upper secondary school and technical and vocational education and training to fill the rapid growth in medium-skill employment under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which will be introduced at the end of 2015.
HANOI (ILO News) – Viet Nam needs to improve the quality and relevance of upper secondary school and technical and vocational education and training to fill the rapid growth in medium-skill employment under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which will be introduced at the end of 2015.
The ILO/ADB report on “ASEAN Community 2015: Managing integration for better jobs and shared prosperity”, now also available in Vietnamese, showed that structural change under the AEC will drive heightened demand for different skills level, with medium-skill employment to increase the most, followed by low-skills jobs.
Projections indicated that between 2010 and 2025, demand overall for medium-skill employment will increase by 28 per cent, compared to 23 per cent in low-skill employment and 13 per cent in high-skill jobs.
“With sound literacy basic education, Viet Nam is well placed to meet the looming demand for low-skilled workers in the coming decades, but more needs to be done to prepare their workers for medium-skill employment,” said ILO Viet Nam Director, Gyorgy Sziraczki.
Viet Nam’s literacy rate is high, at 93 per cent, and primary net enrolment rate is also up to 98 per cent. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Vietnamese 15-year-olds scored higher than the OECD average in mathematics and science, indicating strong learning outcomes through lower secondary schools.
However, when it comes to practices, a World Bank survey of employers in 2014 identified gaps in job-related technical skills, as well as in cognitive skills such as problem solving and critical thinking, and core skills such as teamwork and communication.
“Skills gaps and mismatches still exist between the classroom and the workplace,” said the head of ILO Viet Nam. “So bridging the gaps and addressing future demands for skills by closer education - business cooperation and business participation in the development of skills standards and training curriculum are critical.”
Other recommendations made by the report to help Viet Nam fill the medium-skill employment growth included aligning economic and workforce planning, certifying skills, and enhancing partnerships between education and training providers and the private sector.
With the projected expansion in the garment, construction and transportation sectors, a focus on developing specific vocational competencies along with promoting excellence in science and engineering would help Viet Nam prepare its young people for the near future.
The ILO/ADB report examines the impact of the AEC on labour markets through model simulations and empirical and policy analyses, with the aim of offering evidence-based policy recommendations towards fostering better jobs and inclusive and balanced growth.
The report highlights key priorities to address the challenges and opportunities of the AEC in terms of strengthening regional cooperation mechanisms, facilitating structural change and improving job quality, enhancing skills development, boosting productivity and wages and managing labour migration.
The ILO/ADB report on “ASEAN Community 2015: Managing integration for better jobs and shared prosperity”, now also available in Vietnamese, showed that structural change under the AEC will drive heightened demand for different skills level, with medium-skill employment to increase the most, followed by low-skills jobs.
Projections indicated that between 2010 and 2025, demand overall for medium-skill employment will increase by 28 per cent, compared to 23 per cent in low-skill employment and 13 per cent in high-skill jobs.
“With sound literacy basic education, Viet Nam is well placed to meet the looming demand for low-skilled workers in the coming decades, but more needs to be done to prepare their workers for medium-skill employment,” said ILO Viet Nam Director, Gyorgy Sziraczki.
Viet Nam’s literacy rate is high, at 93 per cent, and primary net enrolment rate is also up to 98 per cent. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Vietnamese 15-year-olds scored higher than the OECD average in mathematics and science, indicating strong learning outcomes through lower secondary schools.
However, when it comes to practices, a World Bank survey of employers in 2014 identified gaps in job-related technical skills, as well as in cognitive skills such as problem solving and critical thinking, and core skills such as teamwork and communication.
“Skills gaps and mismatches still exist between the classroom and the workplace,” said the head of ILO Viet Nam. “So bridging the gaps and addressing future demands for skills by closer education - business cooperation and business participation in the development of skills standards and training curriculum are critical.”
Other recommendations made by the report to help Viet Nam fill the medium-skill employment growth included aligning economic and workforce planning, certifying skills, and enhancing partnerships between education and training providers and the private sector.
With the projected expansion in the garment, construction and transportation sectors, a focus on developing specific vocational competencies along with promoting excellence in science and engineering would help Viet Nam prepare its young people for the near future.
The ILO/ADB report examines the impact of the AEC on labour markets through model simulations and empirical and policy analyses, with the aim of offering evidence-based policy recommendations towards fostering better jobs and inclusive and balanced growth.
The report highlights key priorities to address the challenges and opportunities of the AEC in terms of strengthening regional cooperation mechanisms, facilitating structural change and improving job quality, enhancing skills development, boosting productivity and wages and managing labour migration.
| New labour market report to focus on skills With ILO support, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) will produce a yearly report entitled “Trends in the Vietnamese Labour Market: The Annual VCCI Report” from this year within the framework of a new project launched in Hanoi today (4 March). Each year the report, which will be published in December, will focus on a particular theme. The 2015 report will put an emphasis on skills issues and its relevance to productivity with an aim to help the business community to seize the opportunities brought by the integration process, including the AEC, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the trade agreement with the EU. The overall project aims to help VCCI produce a high quality evidenced based report and recommendations on labour market issues and build capacity of VCCI staff on survey research methodologies and analysis and future replication of the report. |