Vietnam’s skilled workers will find it easier to seek high-income jobs when the ASEAN Community is formed by 2015.

However, the resultant opportunity will also create a challenge for young people and vocational trainers to adapt to rapid regional integration.

In recent years, many vocational training establishments have defined and applied quality criteria to their output, usually following the international CDIO (conceive, design, implement and operate) standard.

Establishments have developed training programmes and methods in the hope of providing students with knowledge and skills based on these criteria.

However, the success of training establishments and the quality of their output have yet to be assessed.

Many experts suggested Vietnam, together with building standards for output, needs to revise its national standard system on occupational assessment and organise national-level contests for each job.
Following this path is the Ho Chi Minh City Education and Training Department and the Ministry of Education and Community of New South Wales, Australia, who are working together to carry out an international-standard vocational training programme from the 2014 academic year.

Under the programme, students from three pilot schools, namely Thu Duc Technology College, Phu Lam Economics-Technology College and Nguyen Huu Canh Vocational Training School, will be provided with English for Special Purposes (ESP) lessons along with Australia’s advanced vocational training plan.

Future graduates are expected to be confident with their occupational skills and fluent in professional English.-VNA