Inadequacies in training and recruiting vocational school students

Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam - Secretary of the Youth Union of Nghe An College of Digital Economics 1:

Vocational school students have difficulty finding jobs

According to regulations, workers must be 18 years old to be considered old enough to sign contracts at enterprises. However, with the current 9+ training model, after graduating from secondary school, our students are only 17 years old - not old enough to work in enterprises. This leads to the fact that after graduation, students have to accept a 1-year pause, which is a waste of time and opportunity. Not only that, during the training process, when internships and apprenticeships are required, enterprises also refuse to accept these students, causing them to be at a disadvantage. This is a shortcoming and overlap that the current Employment Law cannot handle.

Representatives of Nghe An College of Digital Economics 1 give comments on the Draft Amended Law on Employment. Photo: Diep Thanh

Regarding workers under 18 years old, currently, there are no specific regulations on the regime and benefits for part-time workers such as students working in restaurants and hotels. In large enterprises, there are regulations but implementation has not been thoroughly implemented. In addition, the procedures for supporting start-up loans for students are still complicated, making it difficult for them to access.

Another content that we are interested in is short-term vocational training. In addition to the workforce with professional training, there is also a short-term unskilled workforce to go to work. In reality, these training courses are opened a lot but the efficiency is not high, after being trained, the learners mainly return to serve small family-sized units, the rest have not been trained to ensurejob introduction, there are no regulations or support mechanisms. The short-term training courses we are implementing in prisons and rehabilitation facilities are also facing the same situation. This causes a huge waste of both effort and money.

Regarding recruitment and job introduction, we believe that it is still too formalistic, the participants are mainly students, not targeting the general labor force and rural laborers. Meanwhile, for students, instead of introducing jobs, there should be in-depth career orientation events, abilities, and potentials for them. The provincial and district Job Introduction Centers need to truly innovate, truly connecting businesses with the labor force to achieve quality and efficiency in recruitment.

Mr. Nguyen Khac An - Principal of Vinh Technical Economic College:

There needs to be a policy to promote coordination between schools and businesses.

The “output” side for vocational school graduates currently still has many shortcomings. What is needed is not necessarily available, and what is available is not necessarily needed! The relationship between training and recruitment still lacks connectivity.The handshake"The relationship between vocational training institutions and enterprises has not met practical requirements. Training programs rarely "keep up" with the demands of the labor market. Vocational training institutions mainly recruit students based on the needs of students, not based on "handshakes" with enterprises. Training content still focuses on basic knowledge and skills, lacking in depth. In many cases, enterprises have to retrain workers after recruiting.

Students of sewing class at Vinh Technical Economic College. Photo: CSCC

From that reality, it is necessary to have a smooth connection and coordination between the stages of enrollment, training, and recruitment. Training facilities only enroll and train the occupations that businesses need, or in other words, vocational training facilities only train according to "orders". That is the key to improving the quality of training, avoiding waste and also avoiding the situation of trained workers being unemployed or working in jobs that are not in their expertise. Besides, the current training program of vocational schools only stops at vocational training without being equipped with vocational skills. If businesses have support for schools to improve vocational skills for students, the output force will be workers who are both good at their profession and proficient in skills, meeting job requirements.

And when workers who are trained through school, have full certificates, have knowledge of occupational safety and hygiene, have communication skills, have industrial style... receive priority and appropriate treatment, they will have motivation and passion for work. In reality, there is not much difference in salary regime for ordinary workers and workers with degrees today, leading to many workers taking education and training lightly, and businesses being lenient in recruitment.

Mr. Vuong An Nguyen - Chairman of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union:

Priority should be given to recruitment and benefits for workers with vocational training.

In this revised Draft Law on Employment, there is priority in recruitment and policies for trained workers with vocational certificates. This is a very encouraging sign.

A representative of a business in the Southeast Economic Zone presented the regime for vocational school interns when they start working at the business. Photo: Diep Thanh

It can be affirmed that in recent years, the authorities in the province have paid special attention to connecting labor supply and demand. In the last 2 years, the province has organized many large-scale events with the participation of all vocational schools, representatives of industrial parks and large enterprises to improve this issue. The most recent event was the event connecting supply and demand between enterprises and localities in Tan Ky district and in the coming time, in the second half of October, there will continue to be an event connecting schools, enterprises...

Currently, industrial parks in the province are in need of recruiting workers throughvocational trainingvery high, including businesses in districts such as Tan Ky, Hoang Mai Town, Yen Thanh... However, to promote the connection, schools also need to be proactive in introducing their capabilities, promoting their brands to many businesses, instead of waiting for others to come to them. If the new mechanism and policy have more regulations and sanctions to promote this coordination, it will certainly bring more positive results.