Youth struggle to find jobs as economy slows

According to the General Statistics Office, there were at least 1 million unemployed people during the first nine months of 2013. Nationwide, young people (15-24 years old) accounted for 5.97 percent, though youth unemployment in urban areas reached 10.79 percent.
According to the General Statistics Office, there were at least 1million unemployed people during the first nine months of 2013.Nationwide, young people (15-24 years old) accounted for 5.97 percent,though youth unemployment in urban areas reached 10.79 percent.

At the same time, many companies reportedly struggle to find skilledworkers. The country's transformation into a successful middle-incomestatus cannot be guaranteed without increasing the skills of theworkforce to meet new demands.

Vietnam News talks to some experts about this issue as the year winds down.

* Many Vietnamese degree-holders reportedly can't find jobs these daysdue to economic woes, but also lack skills for available jobs. How canyou assess this problem?

- Nguyen Van Chien,Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information,Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences

Thedifference between rural and urban areas lies in the fact that temporaryjobs are more readily available in rural areas, since there are moreoptions for people to choose, for example by engaging in familybusinesses, such as farming or planting. In addition, the youth in urbanareas tend to be quite "picky" in choosing a job. They are less likelyto take jobs that are not "highly valued", such as manual labour, evenat the risk of being unemployed.

Because of theeconomic woes, unemployment is seen almost everywhere and it's a risk toevery individual. Plus, there has been a surplus of graduates of theuniversity level or above in certain sectors, especially in educationaland social science sectors. Many university graduates fail to find ajob, so they continue to study further to get higher degrees, hoping toraise the chance of getting a job upon graduation.

Such decisions are easy to understand, as Vietnamese people tend tothink highly of academic certificates and they often think having a goodacademic profile will be an advantage in finding a job. But the problemlies in a failure in career orientations.

- Christian Bodewig, chief author of the World Bank's Vietnam Development Report 2014

Youth unemployment is a global phenomenon and there are many countriesaround the world, including emerging economies, where youthunemployment is a much more alarming problem than in Vietnam. Takesouthern Europe, for example, where more than half of all young peopleare without jobs. In Vietnam, the situation is much better. But it isnot perfect, either. We can increasingly observe a duality associatedwith educational attainment and location.

Whilewell-educated workers are taking advantage of expanding opportunities inthe private sector, especially in urban areas, less educated workers,and particularly those in rural areas, are having more difficulties.Less educated workers and youths from rural areas have more difficultiestransitioning into the expanding private sector, and are often left inthe agricultural sector or in informal employment. That, surprisingly,includes higher education graduates in rural areas, some of whom end upworking on farms.

- Tran Thi Tuyet, lecturer, University of Languages and International Studies, National University, Hanoi

Both the employment market and Vietnamese higher education are intransitional phases of the economy, from the centrally planned to themarket-driven economy. In that transitional period, poor communicationsand a lack of understanding between the two create more frustration forrecent graduates, who seek ways to enter the employment market. Theseyoung people, who receive little information about the employment marketduring their university time, are wobbling around to find ways to enterthe labour force.

Stories of corruption, luck, ofpoor skills they possess, together with the desire to maintain face forthe whole family, earn money right after graduation, and find work andstay in the big cities, adds much more nervousness for recent graduates.Yet, the under-employment and unemployment of recent graduates does notseem be the result of only the poor quality of training in highereducation.

* While companies struggle to recruitenough low-skilled workers, many young Vietnamese feel that if theycan't find jobs, they should continue their studies. How can we addressthis imbalance?

- Chien: Not all sectors andcompanies need workers with a Master's degree. They are simply lookingfor those with the skills they need. People should think of what thelabour market needs to choose their career path wisely. Pursuing amaster's or doctorate degree is not always the best option for someonehoping to find a job at present. Sometimes, having a higher degree maybe a disadvantage, if you apply to work for a position that does notrequire such high degrees. In such a case, the employer might not needsomeone with a high degree and is incapable of providing a higher salaryjust because someone is overqualified in terms of their academicbackground.

This all leads to the importance ofcareer orientation, which should be paid attention to since high school.Each person should consider carefully which profession is suitable forthem, in terms of personal preference and strengths, as well as theactual market demands. In moving towards successful career orientation,the involvement of families, society and sectors is needed. Research andforecasting work for human resources demands in different sectors isalso important to help training institutes consider and set suitableenrollment quotas, thereby preventing the waste of time and money spenton those pursuing unsuitable professions or professions that are not ingreat demand.

- Bodewig: First of all, theVietnamese labour market offers lots of opportunities. Unlike manycountries around the world today, Vietnam does not suffer from a lowlabour demand; its employers are seeking workers, but they cannot findworkers that match their skill needs. Employers in urban areas told usthat they do not have enough applications for jobs in blue collaroccupations, such as machine operators, while those graduates that applyfor white collar occupations often do not bring the skills thatemployers want.

For example, they mentionpractical, job-related technical skills and other skills, such ascritical thinking and good team and communication skills. Employers feelthat the education system today turns out graduates without theseskills. This is where reforms are needed.

But letme be clear: it is still a very good decision to enroll in highereducation. Higher education graduates command much higher wages thangraduates from lower levels of education and, some reports aboutgraduate unemployment notwithstanding, many graduates have great jobopportunities.

However, it's also clear from ourresearch that not just any higher education degree from any universitywill guarantee success. Students should be very choosy and learn muchabout the quality of universities and programmes, and job prospects upongraduation.

- Jonah Levey, founder and chairman of Vietnamworks

Based on our survey of 200 employers, the most important thing thathiring managers care about when considering an application is workingexperience relevant to the vacancy. None of the employers surveyed chose"relevant education" as the most important criteria to evaluate acandidate.

Vietnamese job seekers, regardless ofhaving studied overseas, should focus on developing transferable skillsand working experience that is required for their dream jobs. Simplyhaving a degree from a good university will not be enough to attractrecruiters.

The best job seekers have to be able toexplain in their CV why they are the correct person for the job, andhow their achievements and experience will support them to contribute tothe success of the company they are applying to.

There is no question about the importance of a good quality education.It is, however, just one of the key factors that employers consider inhiring applicants for their respective organisations. There are costing,job fit, and experience, among many others, that are also carefullyconsidered by hiring managers. These factors differ on a case to casebasis, based upon the recruitment demands and strategies that eachcompany requires.

* As the country enters a new eraof development, do we need to approach youth unemployment and skilltraining differently?

- Tuyet: The Government hasalso recognised the mismatch between higher education training and theemployment market. It has been stipulated in numerous documents,policies, plans and resolutions which aim to increase the trainingquality in universities and reinforce the central mission of highereducation, which is to provide a high-skilled workforce for thedevelopment of the country.

It is suggested that notonly universities, students and their families, but also employers,need to make greater efforts to bridge the divide between highereducation and the labour market. Universities cannot ‘bring the market'into their curriculum and shorten the learning curve in the transitionfor their students if employers do not cooperate and participate. Thecollaboration between universities and employers will bring mutualbenefit.

A higher education-employer interactivemodule should be developed. Students will be sent to enterprises for sixto eight months (a semester) for internships. In this module,enterprises will be given incentives when they become involved in theprocess of enhancing graduate employability by claiming tax reductionsfor the time and training they provide students.

Byengaging with enterprises, universities can also learn more day-to-daylessons from the industry to develop more practical curriculum for theirstudents. They can receive more input from enterprises, can inviteguest speakers, or invite enterprises' leaders to be involved increating more practical activities for their students.

- Bodewig: Our assessment of adult literacy confirms that Vietnameseworkers are well prepared with the basic foundational skills needed tosucceed in jobs in industry and services. In fact, Vietnam's widespreadliteracy has helped with enabling workers to leave agriculture for workin the more productive industrial and service sectors - one of the keydrivers of the countries' remarkable growth performance over the last 25years.

But, looking ahead, it is equally clearthat Vietnamese workers in a successful middle income economy will notjust have to be good readers, but also good problem solvers, criticalthinkers, team workers and communicators. Employers are telling us thatthese skills are already high in demand today, but also in short supply.

Workers in professional occupations today tell usthat their jobs involve plenty of problem-solving and communications.The future is already here. That is why we're encouraged that theVietnamese government is taking steps to address these issues, forexample, through reforming the general education curriculum and throughgranting more autonomy to universities to let them make their owndecisions on how to best respond to employer needs.-VNA

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