Lesson 2: Supply and demand imbalance

(Baonghean) -The mentality of being obsessed with degrees, the notion that only going to university is "prestigious", or at least completing a college program, has led to the current situation of "too many teachers, not enough workers". Many students after graduating from school do not have jobs in their field of study, university graduates work in secondary schools...

According to statistics from the Management Board of Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks of Ho Chi Minh City, there are currently 162,000 workers working in 15 Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and Industrial Parks (IPs) in the area, but only 20% of them have received vocational training. Many businesses in these areas have outright rejected the engineers introduced by the job placement centers, because they only need technical workers or unskilled workers for their production work. Nguyen Xuan Tinh is from Thanh Chuong, graduated from the College of Accounting in Hanoi. After nearly a year of waiting for a job, when the IV Traffic Construction Corporation was recruiting workers, he submitted his application but still received no response. When he contacted the employer, he received the answer "Only recruiting workers with intermediate vocational qualifications". Learning from experience for the next time, Tinh said: "It's hard to find a job in my field of study now. If I choose a career that matches my field of study, I probably won't have any more opportunities, and applying to work as a factory worker seems quite difficult. Because employers don't need a degree, they only need skilled workers. Learning from experience for the next time, I just submitted my application and listed myself as an unskilled worker...". Cases like Tinh's are not uncommon. Many students after graduating from university or college have to "sit tight" and wait for a job, or get a job that has nothing to do with the field they studied. For example, graduating from a Foreign Language major and working as an accountant, studying Business Administration and working as a technical worker... When you get a job that doesn't match your field of study, due to the requirement of a standard degree and professional expertise, you have to study for a second or third degree... which is a waste of time, money and many job opportunities.

Practical class at Vinh City College of Industrial Economics and Technology.

Recently, due to social preferences, candidates flocked to the economic sector, so the sectors: Construction, Agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries lacked human resources. For example, the Faculty of Agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries of Vinh University in 2011 had 185 graduates recruited right at the closing ceremony. Professor Tran Ngoc Lan, Head of the Faculty of Agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries of Vinh University, said: "Currently, the faculty is receiving many requests for human resource training from reputable companies and enterprises such as: CP Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company; Nong Huu Seed Company; Viet Ba Aquaculture Joint Stock Company; Steria Asia Investment and Development Joint Stock Company... However, the faculty's enrollment quota is low, not meeting the needs of employers...".

In particular, while universities and colleges are "overloaded" due to a lack of enrollment applications, vocational schools are in a "desolate" state, with no students. Up to now, the whole province has 3 vocational colleges, 10 vocational secondary schools, 1 university, 2 colleges, 4 vocational secondary schools participating in vocational training and the enrollment plan for 2011 given by the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is: Vocational colleges: 4,400 targets; Vocational secondary schools: 5,945 targets. However, to achieve that target is extremely difficult, schools have to struggle to find many ways to attract candidates. Meanwhile, the rate of students who have jobs right after completing vocational training programs is about 85-90%. Currently, the whole country has 240,000 enterprises, the number of trained workers lacking in enterprises is about 1.4 to 1.7 million people/year. Mr. Nguyen Huu Than, Director of Duc Than Company Limited, said: "The company specializes in manufacturing construction materials, contracting construction and transportation projects. On average, each year we recruit 20-30 workers with elementary and intermediate vocational qualifications: electricity, welding, machine repair... but it is very difficult to recruit. There are also many recruitment applications with university and college degrees but they are not suitable for the jobs that the company needs, and we also cannot afford to pay for people with advanced degrees..."

Choosing a career is not only related to interests but also depends on other factors such as ability, qualities, personality... If those factors are not connected, choosing the wrong career and career orientation will cause big consequences - wasting effort and money. In fact, there are some first and second year university students who drop out because they do not know what they will do after graduation, others choose to retake the exam, study for another engineering degree or bachelor's degree.

Although we know that university is an important milestone in every young person's academic career, it is not advisable to let university become a burden and pressure for yourself, because there are many other doors to life that are open and help you mature faster.

According to a sociological survey, 90% of young people graduating from high school want to study at university or college, 70% of young people after graduating from vocational schools want to work in the public sector; 50% want to work in big cities, only 8% of young people want to work in rural areas. The gap in training and recruitment, training not linked to social needs has sounded the alarm about career orientation for young people in the current period.

Duy Nam