Illustrative image (Photo: Internet) HCM City (VNA) - Forty-five vocational schools around the country will pilot a programme to teach international curricula in 34 vocations to improve the quality of human resources.
Of the curricula, eight are Malaysian, 12 are Australian and the rest are German, Do Van Giang, deputy head of the Formal Vocational Training Department, told a conference held in HCM City this week to discuss vocational training for integrating into ASEAN.
Twenty two of them would be started next year or in 2017, he said.
A total of 2,750 students are expected to be trained, with their degrees to be issued by colleges in the three countries.
Vietnam has 1,467 vocational training colleges, intermediate schools, and centres, which have enrolled 1.9 million students this year.
Next year they are expected to enrol 2.1 million. More vocational schools will be set up in the Central Highlands, north-western and south-western regions.
Dr Vu Xuan Hung, head of the Institute of Vocational Studies in Hanoi, cited the 2014 Vietnam Development Report by the World Bank as saying the country faces a shortage of workers with adequate skills.
According to the report, unlike many countries around the world, Vietnam does not suffer from low labour demand: employers need workers but cannot find people with the skills they need.
In terms of labour quality, the country is in 11th place out of 12 Asian countries.
Trained workers account for just 20.6 percent of the country's 53.7 million workforce, he said, adding that is one of the causes of low productivity.
According to the International Labour Organisation, in 2013 Vietnam's productivity was a 15th of Singapore's, 20 percent of Malaysia's and 40 percent of Thailand's.
"The low productivity affects the country's economic competitiveness," Hung said.
"The ASEAN Community, which will come into being on December 31, is expected to bring opportunities for development in many fields, including vocational training".
Vocational training facilities would have the chance for collaborations, leading to an increase in the opportunities for students to get international standard training and jobs in the country and other ASEAN members, Hung said.
"However, the opportunities will only be on paper if the facilities do not know how to take advantage.".-VNA
