The hospitality sector in Vietnam must take steps to improve thequality of personnel as tourism professionals from other countries inthe ASEAN Economic Community (EC) will be permitted to work within theregion by year-end.
Tourism and hospitality staff must havebasic professional knowledge and be proficient in foreign languages andIT, according to Nguyen Van Luu, director of the management board of aproject called Strengthening of Human Resources in the Hospitality andTourism Industry in Vietnam, implemented by the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism.
As many as 700,000 employees work in thecountry's hospitality and tourism field, an increase of 220,000 comparedto 2010, Luu said. The number is expected to increase to 1.5 million by2030.
Of the 700,000 employees, only 7.4 percent hold a bachelor's or post-graduate degree.
Asmany as 60 percent have some knowledge of foreign languages, includingEnglish, China, French and others, with English being the mostpredominant. However, only 15 percent are proficient in English.
JonGlendinning, Director of the HCM City-based British Council, cited asurvey on tourism in Malaysia, saying that English proficiency couldaffect hotel choice and satisfaction with their stay.
Luu saidthat conditions at training facilities in Vietnam are not as good asenterprises, leading to limitations in skill improvement.
Enterprisesin this field should take the initiative in cooperating with trainingfacilities to give chances for internship, he said.
"It is bestto have a national standard framework for human resources in the field.Based on this, training facilities would have suitable curricula. Andthe framework would provide criteria on recruitment for enterprises," hesaid.
Tran Hung Viet, General Director of Saigontourist HoldingCompany and Chairman of HCM City Tourism Association, said he wasoptimistic that many students majoring in tourism at university orcollege would work in other countries in the ASEAN region.
ManyVietnamese students are aware of the upcoming EC Community regulationsand are studying on their own to improve their language and IT skills.
In recent years, many students have worked on five-star cruise ships that cater to 1,000-3,000 tourists, he said.
Threeto five-star hotels in Vietnam have the same standards as othercountries in the region, he said, adding that local staff could easilywork at the same hotel chain in other countries.
The forum washeld by the Human Resources Centre in cooperation with the VietnamInstitute of Management and the British Council.-VNA
Tourism and hospitality staff must havebasic professional knowledge and be proficient in foreign languages andIT, according to Nguyen Van Luu, director of the management board of aproject called Strengthening of Human Resources in the Hospitality andTourism Industry in Vietnam, implemented by the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism.
As many as 700,000 employees work in thecountry's hospitality and tourism field, an increase of 220,000 comparedto 2010, Luu said. The number is expected to increase to 1.5 million by2030.
Of the 700,000 employees, only 7.4 percent hold a bachelor's or post-graduate degree.
Asmany as 60 percent have some knowledge of foreign languages, includingEnglish, China, French and others, with English being the mostpredominant. However, only 15 percent are proficient in English.
JonGlendinning, Director of the HCM City-based British Council, cited asurvey on tourism in Malaysia, saying that English proficiency couldaffect hotel choice and satisfaction with their stay.
Luu saidthat conditions at training facilities in Vietnam are not as good asenterprises, leading to limitations in skill improvement.
Enterprisesin this field should take the initiative in cooperating with trainingfacilities to give chances for internship, he said.
"It is bestto have a national standard framework for human resources in the field.Based on this, training facilities would have suitable curricula. Andthe framework would provide criteria on recruitment for enterprises," hesaid.
Tran Hung Viet, General Director of Saigontourist HoldingCompany and Chairman of HCM City Tourism Association, said he wasoptimistic that many students majoring in tourism at university orcollege would work in other countries in the ASEAN region.
ManyVietnamese students are aware of the upcoming EC Community regulationsand are studying on their own to improve their language and IT skills.
In recent years, many students have worked on five-star cruise ships that cater to 1,000-3,000 tourists, he said.
Threeto five-star hotels in Vietnam have the same standards as othercountries in the region, he said, adding that local staff could easilywork at the same hotel chain in other countries.
The forum washeld by the Human Resources Centre in cooperation with the VietnamInstitute of Management and the British Council.-VNA
