Foreign language and IT certificates for reporters and editors will be abolished from October 10, 2022.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung has just issued Circular 13 regulating codes, professional title standards and salary scales for editors, reporters, translators and television directors in the information and communications sector.

The new point of this circular is that from October 10, 2022, in the standards on training and fostering qualifications of reporters and editors in all three ranks (I, II, III), foreign language and IT certificates will no longer be required.

Journalists working at an event. Photo archive

Instead, both editors and reporters must have basic information technology skills and be able to use foreign languages ​​or ethnic minority languages ​​as required by the job position.

In particular, the position of translator requires a university degree in foreign languages ​​or higher. In case of having a university degree in another field, a foreign language certificate equivalent to level 5 of the Vietnamese foreign language proficiency framework or higher is required, suitable for the job position.

The Circular also clearly stipulates that, in addition to qualifications such as university degree in journalism and publishing; degree in political theory, editors must also have a training certificate according to the professional title standards of civil servants specializing in editors or have a certificate of practice as an editor (for editors in the publishing field).

In case the editor has a university degree in a field other than journalism or publishing, he/she must have a certificate of training in journalism or publishing issued by a competent training institution or have a college or intermediate degree in journalism or publishing.

Similarly, reporters must also have a training certificate according to the professional title standards of specialized reporters.

In case a reporter has a university degree in a field other than journalism, he/she must have a certificate of training in journalism issued by a competent training institution or have a college or intermediate degree in journalism.

The Circular also has a transitional provision clearly stating that the issued training certificate according to the professional title standards of specialized information and communication civil servants has the same validity as the training certificate according to the professional title standards of specialized civil servants specified in this Circular.

Officials who have been appointed to the professional titles of editor, reporter, translator, television director in the field of information and communication and have completed the professional title standards according to the provisions of law before the effective date of this circular shall be determined to meet the regulations on professional title standards of corresponding officials.

Officials who have been appointed to the professional titles of editor, reporter, translator, television director in the field of information and communication according to the provisions of law before the effective date of this Circular but have not yet completed the title standards, the agency or unit with authority to manage and use officials is responsible for creating conditions for officials to supplement the corresponding missing standards according to the provisions of this Circular.

For agencies and units that have had their projects and plans for organizing the promotion of professional titles of editors, reporters, translators, and television directors in the Information and Communications sector approved by competent authorities before the effective date of this Circular, they shall continue to implement the approved projects and plans until completion.

This Circular takes effect from October 10, 2022.