. Scope and Limitations of the Study

Hanoi and Haiphong are two main cities in north Vietnam with significant potentials for development and concentrates large labor force with high level of education.

THE QUEST FOR SKILLED LABOR FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN VIETNAM

Previous Degree Bachelor of Mechanical engineering

Hanoi University of TechnologyHanoi, Vietnam

Scholarship Donor Government of Switzerland

Asian Institute of TechnologySchool of ManagementBangkok, Thailand April 1997

Chapter 1 Introduction

1 Rationale

The renovation policy (doi moi), starting in 1986, has had a profound and widespreadimpact on all aspects of the socio- economic life of Vietnam The country has maintained anannual GDP growth rate of over 8% since 1992, and is moving towards achieving the goal ofdoubling GDP per capita of about US$200 to day by the end of this decade Increasingindustrial production has brought a period of recession to an end and has created steadymomentum for further growth Agricultural production has experienced high growth rates,which in turn has ensured food sufficiency and significant surplus for export Externaleconomic relations has been stronger Society has becomes more dynamic, and startedenjoying improved living conditions Activities in family planning and population have madeconsiderable progress Public health has received increased attention to better serves theinterest of the general public

However, to sustain this rate of growth, Vietnam is confronting at the same time,with numerous constraints and difficulties due to serious shortages of a kind of skilled laborthat is able to handle all types of work required in developed industries (Truong Quang,1996) One of the most critical difficulties rests in vocational training field in which trainedlabor accounts only for a low percentage of the Vietnamese labor force and total population,10% and 5.53% respectively In general, the quality of education and training is still low withregards to scientific knowledge, managerial skills and creative thinking (Truong Quang,1996) There is a serious mismatch between the quantity of educated people and the qualityrequired for the country development This situation applies equally both for the formaleducation as well as vocational training of the country

In particular relatively large number of vocational school graduates are unemployed,while skilled labor is highly needed, and in short of supply What are the causes of thisparadoxical problem? Are the skills acquired at school of no use to the society? Is theapparatus of training system inefficiency?

So far, there has been no research undertaken to explain the situation and toeventually provide a solution for these problems

It remains to be a difficult and challenging task for the functions concerned to dealwith this problem

2 Statement of the problem

How to assessment the demand of skilled labor and how to solve the gap between demand and supply of skilled labor for sustainable economic growth in Vietnam.

3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are:

3.1 To assess the demand of skilled labor in Vietnam

3.2 To identify the gap between supply and demand of labor

3.3 To identify the factors related to the vocational training curriculum that affects thequality, skills, knowledge, and abilities of participants

3.4 To make some recommendations to improve the quality of participant in order to meetthe market demand

4 Scope and Limitations of the Study

Hanoi and Haiphong are two main cities in north Vietnam with significant potentialsfor development and concentrates large labor force with high level of education This region

is considered the economic hub of the northern part of Vietnam, with a high concentrationmany local and foreign socio-economic projects Therefore, the requirement of labor is verylarge, especially of skilled, and specialized type of labor

Owing to the time constraint, the study was focused only on the aspect of skilledlabor in Vietnam In order to assess quality of participants from vocational schools inVietnam, interviews were mainly conducted in Hanoi, Haiphong The scope of the interviews

in pratically limited to 2 Education and Training Departments of the MOET, and vocationalschools located in the region, and selected companies that agreed to participate in theproject The interviews were often conducted with the Human Resource Department andother heads of departments

5 Research Frame work

The frame work is developed in three stages:

See flow chart in later page

6 Research methodology

Data are collected by direct interviews and secondary sources

 Guideline for direct interview.

1 With the Education and Training Departments

- Human resource development policy

- The effectiveness of education and training management

2 With the Vocational Schools

- Number of students participants per year

- Evaluated the quality of training, and curriculum of training

3 With the companies:

- The requirement of labor (type, skills, etc )

- Number of labor required from now to 2000

- Evaluation the quality of skilled labor The number of participants graduated from

vocational schools (type,%)

- The need for re-training

- The need for change in vocational school to be more adaptation to the market requirement

 A three - phases methodology has been used as follows:

- Phase one: Collection of secondary data about the overall situation of education system.The policies of human resource development, the quality of vocational training The sourceare MOET, official reports, newspapers, and magazines

- Phase two: Interviews at the MOET, vocational schools and companies

- Phase three: Analysis of data and recommendations

7 Organization of the Study

- Chapter 1: Introduction

- Chapter 2: Literature Review

- Chapter 3: Human Resource Development Strategy in Vietnam

- Chapter 4: Development in education and training and problems to be addressed

- Chapter 5: The System of Middle Technical Schools and Vocational Schools in Vietnam

- Chapter 6: Findings and Discussion of the Survey

- Chapter 7: Recommendations

Chapter 2 Literature Review

1 The Contribution of Education and Training to Economic Growth

The concept that investment in human capital promotes economic growth actuallydates back to the time of Adam Smith and the early classical economists, who emphasizedthe importance of investing in human skills In the 1960s, Schultz (1961) and Denison (1962)showed that education contributes directly to the growth of national income by improvingthe skills and productive capacities of the labor force This important finding led to a flood ofstudies on the economic value of investment in education Research in this area slowed inthe 1970s, however, because of a lack of economic growth and a certain ambivalence aboutthe role of education in development Recently, the World Bank has expressed renewedinterest in human development, particularly education, as is reflected in its 1980 WorldDevelopment Report

The early attempts to measure the contribution of education to economic growthwere based either on the growth accounting approach, used by Denison and others, or onthe rate of return to human capital, an approach adopted by Schultz and others Growthaccounting is based on the concept of an aggregate production function, which links output(Y) to the input of physical capital (K) and labor (L) The simple form of production function,assumed in many of these studies, is a linearly homogenous production function: Y= F(K,L)

If the economic growth is due entirely to increases in physical capital and labor ,then it should be possible to desegregate the rate of growth of output into its capital andlabor components In this respect, Denison (1962) calculated that between 1930 and 1960,for example, almost a quarter (23 percent) of the rate of growth output in the United Stateswas due to the increased education of the labor force

Schultz’s (1963) method of measuring the contribution of education to economicgrowth (that is, in terms of the rate of return to human capital, which he then compared withthe rate of return to physical capital) led him to suggest, as Denison had, that a substantialproportion of the rate of growth of output in the United States was due to investment ineducation This method has also been used to estimate the contribution of education toeconomic growth in developing countries

The overall conclusion is clear: increase education of the labor force appears toexplain a substantial part of the grow of output in both developed and developing countriessince about 1950 However, these estimates rest on a wide variety of theoreticalassumptions that have been challenged In particular, it is assumed that the earning ofdifferent group of workers is a measure of their contribution to output; that the higher earning

of educated workers is a measure of their increased productivity, and therefore of theircontribution to economic growth: and that the relationship between inputs and output is afairly simple one, which can be analyzed in terms of aggregate production function

Recent attempts to use econometric techniques to relate inputs to output, however,have again demonstrated the link between education and growth of output Recent research

for the World bank, for example, provides evidence of the link between various aspects ofhuman resource development and economic growth One such study (Hicks, 1980)examined the relationship between growth and literacy, as a measure of educationaldevelopment, a life expectancy in 83 developing countries during the period 1960-1977 andfound that the 12 developing countries with the faster growth rate had well above averagelevels of literacy and life expectancy According to these results, not only do literacy levelsrise with the level of national income, but these 12 countries have higher levels of literacyand life of expectancy than would be predicted for countries of that income level on thebasis of the regression between literacy and per capital income In the case of Korea andThailand, the considerable difference between actual and “ expected” literacy levelssuggests that rapidly growing countries have well developed human resources It does not,

of course, prove the opposite: that countries with high levels of human resourcedevelopment will thereby achieve faster economic growth

Further analysis by Hicks confirms the existence of a relationship between economicgrowth and human resource development, as measured by literacy and life expectancy Ofcourse correlation does not prove causation Its objection automatically weakens anyargument that uses regression analysis to prove that educational development causeseconomic growth To allow for he fact that education, and other indicators of humanresource development, are both the result of an cause of economic development, Wheeler(1980) devised a simultaneous model, which apply to data for 88 developing countries Thissimultaneous model, takes into accent the interactions, over time, between growth andhuman resource development., and tries to separate cause and effect Test with is modelsuggests that education, health , and nuitrion contributed to growth of output not onlydirectly, but also indirectly, by increasing the rate of investment and lowering the birth rate.Wheeler found that on the average an increase in the literacy rate from 20 to 30 percentcauses national income (GDP) to increase by 8-16 percent After examining data for 66developing countries in a similar analysis, Marris (1982) concluded not only that educationstrongly affects economic growth, but that general investment has less effect on growthrates when it is not supported by educational investment

Other research, too, has demonstrated that investment in education complementsinvestment in physical capital For example, World Bank research on the links betweeneducation and the productivity of farmer (Lau 1982) has shown that investment in improvedseeds, irrigation, and fertilizes is more productive, in terms of increased crop yields, whenfarmers have four years of primary education rather than none Thus it appears thatprevious attempts to measure the contribution of education to economic growth may haveunderestimated the effects of education by ignoring its indirect effects There are othergrounds, too, for thinking that previous attempts to measure the economic contribution ofeducation may have underestimated the effect of education on growth There is ampleevidence that education makes both a direct an indirect contribution to economic growth, butthe chicken-and-egg relationship between education and growth can never be fullyestablished Nonetheless, strong support can be found for the notion that the most likelycausal link is from education to economic growth, rather than the other way around Thequestion of whether it is more profitable to invest in men or machines cannot be answeredsimply Some evidence (see figure 2-1) suggest that in developing countries the average ofreturn to human capital is higher than the rate of return to physical capital, whereas in moredeveloped countries, the reverse is true It is also true, however, as already been pointedout, that investment in education often complements investment in physical capital andmakes it more productive

Annual income per capita.

2 Vocational training

Vocational training means training which impacts the knowledge and skills necessary for a vocation.(D.Lockwood,1986)

In the recommendation concerning vocational training issued in 1962, the ILO used

‘vocational training’ in very broad context, that is, vocational training as preparation ortraining for employments or promotion in all fields of economic activity and , as training notfor its own sake, but one which takes into sufficient consideration employment opportunities

as the means to maximum use and development of human resources for both personal andsocial benefit

The contents of vocational training should not overlap of formal education, althoughthe two are conducted in close relation with one another Formal education gives priority tobasic knowledge and understanding and also to the formation of character Vocationaltraining, however attaches importance to the teaching of technical skills and knowledge

required for a specific vocation, through actual experience It is of course important thatthese are achieved through a systematic and organized process of training.

Vocational training may have some points in common with vocational education Toavoid confusion between the two, their differences in purpose and procedure should betaken into consideration while keeping in mind the close relationship between them

3 Definitions of terms

3.1 Skill

Skill is the transfer of knowledge or perception into action Skill is practical knowledgecombine with ability A skill can be improved through practice or training.(Lockwood,1986)

3.2 Need and Want

The first step in any training needs analysis is to differentiate between training wantsand training needs.(D.Lockwood, 1986)

Nowack (1991) discriminates theses two concepts as follows:

- A true training need exists when specific job tasks or behaviors are important and anemployee’s proficiency in them is low

- A training want may arise when specific job tasks or behaviors are not important and anemployee’s proficiency in them is low

Training need assessment aims at uncovering an employee’s true training needs andweeding out training wants Employees often want training in specific areas that areirrelevant to the job or inconsistent with organizational objectives

Four definition of needs

Brinkerhoff (1986) extracts four definitions of need from Stufflebeam’s study(Stufflebeam, 1977) and indicates that deferent organization contexts an situations will call

to different approaches of needs, and very often, any situation will benefit from multipleneeds analysis perspective The four definitions are as follows:

1 Discrepancy : This is defined different between an ideal normative, or expected level ofperformance, and an actual level of performance Use of this definition allows formeasurable, precise, and specific need identification, but use of discrepancy definitionrequires measurability and previously established expectation level

2 Democratic : A “ democratic” need, what most people prefer, select or otherwise “ vote”for is determined by majority rule Democratic need definition can confuse wants with needs.Nevertheless, this definition builds consensus

3 Diagnostic: Diagnostic needs are defined through research and casual analysis When Acontribute to the achievement of B, then A is needed for B This definition can help discovertrue needs Furthermore, it introduces the concept of meet and unmet needs For example,

we cannot completely delete stress while working The need is, then, to maintain the currentlow stress level This definition allows “ strength” analysis and avoids the trap of needanalysis that searches only for deficits

4 Analytic : Analytic needs are discovered by intuition, insight expert consideration, or evenenlightenment Analytic needs lead to new level of performance and even allow assessment

to virtuosity because they are not tied by definition to previously set standards, majorityopinion, or established knowledge A weakness of this definition is, however, itsdependence on individual (or small group) expertise

In reality, surveys of need use the work “ need” as an expression of preference and demandand not an observable discrepancy in performance produced by lack of skill (Swierczek,1985) But from an organization perspective, the HRD function should operate and be guide

by policy that encourage the use of all needs definition, and does not preclude theconsideration of any of them

3.3.Need assessment for training

Why need assessment?

Fierce competition among firms is forcing managers into increasingly complex roles.They have the burgeoning responsibility for effectiveness and efficiency, sales and research,profits and growth, competition, government regulations and future markets and services.The complicated demands being placed on managers have propelled managerial needsassessment to the forefront of organizational profiles.(Bierkholff,1986)

Many companies allocate large sums of money to training and development IBM, forexample, spends more than one half billion dollars per year educating and training workers.Some money goes to train 10,000 workers for new jobs, other expenditures update technicaland scientific workers Still other outlays prepare workers and managers for futurechallenges If IBM is to get maximum benefit for this staggering expenditure, then effortsmust concentrate on the people and the situations that benefit the most To decide whattraining and development is needed IBM’s trainers first assess organizational and individualneeds (Davis, 1981)

Need assessment diagnoses problem and future challenges to be met throughtraining and development For example, changes in external environment may present anorganization with new challenges To respond effectively, employees may need training todeal with these changes

Ludeman (1991), tried to measure skill for identifying training need In addition toimproving productivity, a well developed skills assessment program can help measure anddemonstrate the training need

There is only one concrete way to know, if the training programs are actually making

a difference pre- and post - management of the skills you are teaching, say Nathan andStanleigh (1991) they recommend comparing base line performance data with post- trainingperformance data to know, whether a training program really improved employeeperformance

Parry (1990), emphasizes the importance of providing trainers with feedback aboutlearners who use job skills Without feedback it is impossible to know how to revise trainingprograms for maximum skill development.

Customized skills assessments meet training needs Questions can be developed sothat each category of skills aligns with a training module The pre- training feedback isprovided as part of the program and helps focus employees on those are they need toimprove Six months later, a post training assessment let them know that their efforts toimprove worked

Knowing ahead of time, that they will receive post- training feedback increasesemployees’ motivation to implement their development plans and put to work the new skillsthey learned in the training program

Cohen (1990), found a significant correlation between learning and goal setting in thetraining process Pre- training assessment make it easy for participants to see the areas inwhich they need to improve the help them set appropriate goals

Ludeman (1991) uses five assessment stages for identifying training need based oncustomized skills He tries to measure skill and according to the rating criteria, skillassessments accelerate people’s learning, job performance and professional development

by offering reliable feedback necessary for continuous improvement in addition to improvingproductivity A well- developed skills assessment program can help you measure anddemonstrate the worth of your human resource department

People must know, what are most critical to their performance and how much, if atall, they need to improve Customized skills assessment is used in today’s computertechnology to meet the need for performance that could be more aptly named “continuospeople’s improvement”

Mirabile (1991) emphasized a simple approach to skill assessment for training need.Employees skills assessment can identify the logical, relevant developmental needs of acompany’s work force No single approach will work in all situations for all firms But somekinds of skills assessments is integral to the survival of every organization

Various developmental resources exist Each attempts to identify employee’s primarydevelopmental requirements in the context of their organizations Ultimately, theseresources may be reduced to set of tools and processes for gathering specific types ofinformation

Developing the method of assessment.(Swierczek, 1985)

Answers to the following questions can provide the guidelines for the managerialneeds assessment strategy These question can be used whether the assessment isconducted internally or by an external consultant

 What mechanisms are currently in place to disclose business problems?

 Does documentation exist from previous need’s assessments?

 What department within the organization will be involved in the needs’assessment process?

 What budgeted amount is available to pay for costs incurred during the needsassessment process?

 What time frame does the needs’ assessments have to be conducted within?

 What is the relationship of needs’ assessments to the organization’s overallstrategic plans and the strategic plans of its departments?

After all these strategic questions have been answered, the information can betranslated into a formal needs’ assessment plan: (1) Establishing the goals and objectives ofthe needs’ assessment; (2) Identify specific research questions that need to be answered;(3) Examine time and cost constrains; (4) Consider various sampling strategies; and (5)Review data collection and analysis techniques

Following are several methods that can be effectively applied to an assessment.(Swierczek,1985)

1 Advisory Committees: Committees are established to identify training needs to determinewhether the problem might be solved via training or in a different manner, and to prioritizethe needs The purpose is to provide advice only, not to make decisions An important sidebenefit of the committee approach is generation of enthusiasm from is members for programparticipation

2 Assessment Center: the assessment centers techniques usually takes several days.Participants engage in variety task, such as in a basket exercise, decision simulations, caseanalysis, psychological test, and group discussion Trainers observe and assess candidate’sbehavior, report their impressions in detail and combine their appraisals into a formal report.Two kinds of conclusions typically are generated, dealing with a person’s perceivedprofitability and suggestions for further development

3 Attitude survey: An attitude survey is an organization poll soliciting managers’ feelingsabout a range of organizational and work-related issues Such a survey can have open-ended questions with narrative response, or structural questions with more objectivesresponses Because the topics covered are usually general, the data gathered are moreuseful for indicating general levels of satisfaction than for generating valid conclusionsregarding specific training needs

4 Group discussion: this technique involves a series of meetings with managers tocrystallize specific problems, analyze their probable causes, and identify areas in whichtraining could be of value Because of its limited structure, this technique is best for primaryneeds’ analysis or where more rigorous analytical approaches are not feasible

5 Interviews: Some trainees individually interview managers to obtain their perceptions ofwork problems and are in which they feel they need training Interviews offer highparticipation involvement and capacity to tailor the training solutions more directly towardsindividuals However, the technique is quite costly in terms of the trainer’s time

6 Behavioral observation: Direct observation of behavior can be done with work tasks ofsimulated exercises, and can be conducted by either the trainer or other supervisorypersonnel These methods can be time consuming, costly, and too passive However, it isbeneficial in its direct focus on job skills and behaviors

3.4 The Roles of Skill Training

3.4.1 Objectives of training

Dalton and Cosier emphasize several traditional objectives in training programs.They are Development of skills, Orientation of Skills, and Socialization on OrganizationalValues

Development of skills aims at reasonable training of employees so that their skills, atany level, can be sufficient to meet the minimum requirements of the position If they cannotperform this fundamental skill well, it is unlikely that they can behave extraordinarily at someinstances in innovative orientation

But training encompasses a good deal more than providing skills Orientation of skillstraining helps employees figure out the process in the development of their career whenthey handle a function in the organization If there are no skills orientations, employees candevelop their own skills which may not fit with the process used in the future It is difficult forthem to change their behavior or improve skills at that time

Socialization to organizational values is another objective that maybe meet bytraining Every employee, no matter how modest their current position, must be aware ofthese values presumably through some form of training

3.3.2 Education and Skill training

Training is an attempt to compress experience We want to take the knowledge andskills that competent managers through trial and error over time and compress that learninginto few months (Macher, 1984)

The first stage of training an employee receives is from school But the responsibilityfor building a quality workforce does not end with the school However, school must providewell- designed preparation for future workforce

Kearn writes in his book Winning the Brain Race : education’s goal should be tonurture, develop, and encourage human intelligence that produces wealth- not property, notmachines, or physical plan The simple truth is that we can’t have a world-class economywithout world- class workfoce, from senior scientist to stockroom clerks And we cannot haveworld- class schools .No companies, no organization can be better than its employees Ifwealth was once measured in gold, silver, and precious stones, it is now measured in what

we know

People can fulfill their management development in a training session, whether it ison-the-job training or formal training course Training completes and extends skillsdevelopment after education in schools

3.3.3 Business and Training

Smith (1992) clarified the close relationship between business strategy and trainingorientation of organizations: Like strategic planners conducting environmental scanning,program developers should identify trends and other factors that will shape a business’sfuture and examine their implications Strategic planners look at the needs of marketsegments; the program developers evaluate the needs of executives and middle managers.They imitate the methodology of strategic planners, but also give input on a major corporateasset- the strengths and the needs of the top managers.

The size and complexity of business operations today have made trainingindispensable in most companies This trend results in a wide perspective in training Bedi(1991) states that no longer focusing narrowly on topics such as accountancy,salesmanship, or production, modern training program aims at grooming all- roundexecutives by ranging across many fields of expertise They focus not only on thecompany’s current needs, but on the challenges likely to arise as a result of growth anddiversification

3.5 Types of Training

A training course can serve as “ general management objectives” or oriented objectives General Management Training objectives usually are in human relationterms that have direct connection to the participating manager’s jobs Solution- orientedtraining is aimed at solving a problem or improving a situation on the line

Organizations often do not clarify clearly their objective in training Trainers shouldfind out which problems the organizations are facing The more situation the trainingprogram is, the more possible its success would be

Having set the goals for training, trainers will consider potential alternatives to carryout training programs Thamhain (1992) describes briefly 12 popular methods of training:

1 Experimental Learning -This is by far the most prevalent mode of skill development.

especially for technical managers About 25% of their working time is spent in learning onthe job

2 Observation of management practice: Rather than learning from your own work

experiences, you learn from the experiences and examples set by others This methodseems to be practiced by all project leaders Both the cost and perceived effectiveness ofthis type of training are low

3 Formal On-the- job- Training - this includes specific training programs, often part of a new

job assignment, transfer or new hire The training usually consists of a combination ofclosely supervised work assignment, briefing sessions and some courses, seminars andworkshops

4 Literature Reading - Its important sources of information and knowledge which through

proper on the job application can be transformed into skills

5 Consulting - They find them helpful, not only for quick problem solving, but also for

experiential learning and skills building through observation and of specific techniques andpractices

6 Seminar and workshop - These could be in-plant or public offerings Both cost and overall

effectiveness of these training methods are considered to be medium

7 Coaching by Upper management - This seem to be particularly effective in the areas of

team building, communication, interpersonal skills, and leadership

8 Professional Conferences - The conferences are seen as vehicles for quick updates on

new management concept

9 Formal course (Degree Program) - Managers find these courses an effective way to gain

knowledge and the basis for further skills development, especially in administration,communication, organization, planning, tracking and measuring of project activities

10 Special work group - Managers perceiver these activities as highly effective for skill

development, especially in the more intricate areas of team building, communication,leadership, and project controls

11 Formal courses (continuing education) - These courses address the special needs of

those enrolled: they are geared toward particular project management application

12 Job Rotation - Often conducted as part of formal on the job training, job rotation consists

of a deliberate change of job content or are assignment

Each training method has it own strengths and limitations for skill development Acombination of various methods could be a good way to enhance the synergistic effect oftraining For example, classroom training in combination with reading and on-the-jobexperiential learning can be an excellent way to build skill in any category and at anyperformance level

No matter whether an organization needs training for performance-based or performance-based skills, the program should be rooted in the necessity of the organization.Furthermore, the implementation of the program must be adaptive to the situation of theorganization in teams of human resources and physical capabilities Such a program canthus persuade employees to attend training not only as part of the organization’srequirement but for their own career development as well

non-Chapter 3 Human Resource Development strategy in Vietnam

1 State of Human Resources Development (HRD) in Vietnam

1.1 Achieved Results

Through the renovation process, the government of Vietnam has given specialattention to education development in order to improve the general educational level of thepopulace and also to prepare human resources for their professional roles

The results of economic development in past years allowed the Government tomobilize a number of new resources for investment in the social sector In 1994, thepercentage of state budget expenditure for the social sector was 22.4%- 28.8%, from whicheducation and training was allocated 10-11% As a result, HRD has made considerableprogress:

- Despite the fact that the per capita GDP of Vietnam ranks among the lowest in theworld, its Human Development Indicator(HDI) in 1994 is at a medium level (HDI= 0.514).The education level of human resources is quite high Only 8.4% of the total workforce havenever attended school (3.7% and 10.2% in urban and in rural areas respectively) 46.4% ofhuman resources have a minimum of primary level of education (58.5% and 40% in urbanand rural areas respectively) Over five million people graduates from secondary school,which is about 15% of the total human resources In particular, 89% of human resources areliterate, have an average of 9.5 years schooling and are from the 15-35 age group Vietnam

is fortunate in having human resources of such quality and, with the appropriate know-how,would be able to utilize this asset effectively for the industrialization and modernization of thecountry ( See table 3.1)

- In 1993, the number of technicians almost trebled, from 770 thousand in 1979 to2.246 million persons The percentage of scientific-technical personnel jumped from 3.6% ofthe total labor force in 1979 to 6.8% in 1993 (See table 3.2)

- In 1994, the human resources of Vietnam, some 38.2 million people, amounted to54.4% of the country’s population Since 1976 the growth rate of people of working age hasincreased 3.1-3.6% per annum, which is three times the growth rate of those of retirementage This large and rapidly increasing body of human resources is bearing heavily on the

economy, education/training and employment generation ( Source: State Planning

Committee)

- In recent years, awareness of job creation has undergone a fundamental change.Under the new renovation policy there is a more favorable socio-economic and legalenvironment for laborers to actively create jobs for themselves and for the others In order togenerate more new jobs, the government has encouraged the development of small andmedium scale enterprises, and small-scale family businesses In addition to the positiveaffect that domestic and foreign investment has had on job creation, there have beenseveral government initiatives supporting employment issues, including national funding for

employment generation programs, and concessional credit to farmers This has resulted insignificant changes in employment issues in recent years During 1991-1994, an average ofmore than 1 million jobs were created annually.

At present, 85%-86% of human resources are working in the economy, while 78.4%

of the total labor force aged 16 and above is working in agricultural and forestry sectors(85% in rural areas) Numbers in the industrial and service sectors are still low, especially inrural areas The professional structure of the labor force is unbalanced Only 7.6% areemployed in intellectual activity, 9.7% in industry, 8.9% in the service sector, and up to 74%

in agriculture More than 80% of the labor force is unskilled and untrained Of the 10% withtraining, 60% are concentrated in urban areas

Trained professionals account for a low percentage of the labor force and totalpopulation, 10% and 5.53% respectively In general, the quality of education and training isstill low with regards to scientific knowledge, practical skills and creative thinking

The technical labor force is inappropriately distributed The non-producing sector(research, education and state management) account for 65.6% (72% with tertiary and 66%with technical secondary qualifications) while the producing sector(manufacturingagriculture, transportation etc.) has 20% of tertiary and 34% of secondary graduates This

constrains the application of scientific and technological advances to production (Source :

MOET)

Furthermore, training and utilization of human resources with technical skills are notdistributed appropriately among economic sectors, economic components (i.e differenttypes of enterprises) and geographical areas In 1990, only 12.8% of the total labor forcewas working in the state sector, although 86% were trained professionals The non- statecomponents (joint-venture, co-operative, private and foreign enterprises) accounted for theremaining 86.5% of the labor force, only 2% of which had some professional training Thus,utilization of human resources with specialize technical skills only focused on the statecomponent; and failed to encourage the non-state components Trained labor wasconcentrated in sectors such as industry, construction and administration, while in otherssectors such as agriculture, forestry and fishery, which accounted for 71% of the labor force,only 7% had training, 83.3% of Vietnam’s population lives in rural areas where infrastructure

is poor, methods of production are still often traditional and living-standards are low As only

5.6% of the rural population aged 13 and above is vocationally trained, this substantiallyimpacts the quality of human resources in Vietnam.

At present, the labor force of Vietnam accounts for about 50% of the total population

In next two decades, on average there will be annually more than 1 million new entrants tothe labor force The preparation of human resources for socio-economic development,meeting the requirements of the country’s industrialization and modernization and for thecontinuing amelioration of its capabilities is becoming more critical Education and trainingplay a decisive role In past years, due to good preparation of human resources througheducation and training the economy of Vietnam made some initial advances However, there

are still many difficult problems, which need to be solved: (Source: MOET)

- Firstly, the quantity and quality of education and training institutions at differentlevels, namely, general schools, vocational training, technical secondary schools, and highereducation are still low

- Education and training of human resources is inappropriate and insufficient for thefull utilization of human resources in carrying out the industrialization and modernization ofthe country, especially in the transition period to the market economy

- Despite the low percentage of trained workers in the total population (5.53%), 12%

of university and higher education graduates are still unemployed Most non-stateenterprises are in need of additional supplies of technical labor, but as training is insufficientfor the real demand of this sector, graduates are still reluctant to work there

- Graduates are slow to integrate into the economy Technical workers take about

3-6 months after graduation to be recruited, while technical secondary graduates take 5-12months

- Human resources can only be effectively prepared, utilized and developed with theactive participation of all socio-economic sectors and agencies utilizing the labor force Up tonow, only modest efforts have been made in identifying vocational training, setting targetsand curriculum, providing facilities and equipment for training

- In fact, little attention has been paid to retraining, improvement of the educationallevel and further development, and these have yet to meet the requirements of changingeconomy

The above mentioned issues indicate that in the past, education and training werenot able to satisfactorily prepare human resources for the country

2 Overall Objectives on HRD

Vietnam’s policy is encourage human resources as the main factor for fast andsustainable development By being people-centered, it hopes to promote the potential ofeach individual and of the national community as the whole Economic growth enhancespeople's lives, culture and education, as well as general social progress and equality

By focusing on the improvement of the populace and the quality of human resources,Vietnam hopes to enable all of its people to utilize their creativity in contributing to theconstruction and development of the country This will ensure jobs for all, which will in turnimprove the lives of individuals, their families and society as a whole

The attainment of this objective requires the improvement of the educational andprofessional level of human resources, an increases proportion of trained personnel in the

labor force, and the creation of an environment in which workers can improve theireffectiveness and productivity.

3 Specific Objectives

3.1 Population development

The HRD strategy will be successful only if it is accompanied by an effective nationalprogram on population and family planning

The immediate objectives of Vietnam’s population policy are to achieve an average

of 2.9 children per couple and a total population of 82 million by the year 2000 This willensure that by the year 2015 each couple will only have an average of two children and that

the population is stabilized by the middle of the 21st century ( Source: State Planning

The employment generation issue will be closely related to and implemented on thebasis of development programs aimed at heightening economic growth, in order to graduallyreduce unemployment and job shortage as well as to assure social stability and security

(Source: Ministry of Labor, Social Affair and Invalid)

Employment generation is a key issue of HRD, as is the effective utilization of humanresources in the process of industrialization and modernization and economic restructuring

In the immediate future, rural labor structural adjustments should focus on reducing thenumber of workers engaged in cultivation in order to develop handicrafts, industrial, andservice sectors

Under the market economy with different economic components, the government willcontinue to create an environment which encourages the establishment of labor markets,which gives laborers freedom to choose work, businessmen the opportunity to hire workersand facilitate job generation and job expansion within the legal framework

By the year 2000, the overall objective of the country is to create jobs for an annualaverage of 1.2-1.3 million workers

3.3 Improvement of physical strength of human resources

By the year 2000, the average nutrition level in society should be secured at 2,300 calories/day/capita This necessitates fast action in reducing malnourishment among

2,200-children and pregnant women, in addition to the improvements in domestic sanitation,increasing access to clean water (especially in rural areas), greater attention to sanitationand safety on job sites and prevention of epidemic diseases and AIDS.

3.4 Enhancing the educational level of human resources

Preparing human resources to meet the requirements of society through enhancingeducational levels is a task which permeates the HRD process and is the key issue ineducation and training development

3.5 Upgrading and expansion of the professional level of workers

Vocational training for youth aged 15 and above should be expanded and diversifiedand access to such training should be guaranteed for those who leave secondary schools

Scientific- technical staff preparation for industrialization and modernization should

be diversified

The number and percentage of trained laborers in sectors such as technology,construction, finance, banking, insurance, law, management and informatics should beincreased, with particular emphasis on the training of senior and expert staff

The qualitative improvement of foreign languages training for workers to meetrequirements of a open economy needs to be secured

3.6 Improvement of the human resource structure

In order to achieve an annual GDP growth rate of 11% in the period 1996-2000 and12.8% in the period 2001-2010, it is necessary to increase the proportion of trained workers

from 10% to 25% in the year 200 and 50% in the year 2010 ( Source: MOET)

In rural areas, the number of work-days per year should be increased from thecurrent 70% to 80-85% in the year 2000, in line with economic structural adjustment and thediversification of agricultural production to include non-agricultural activities in rural areas

A gradual readjustment in labor allocation should divert workers from the agricultureand fishery sectors into industrial, construction and service sectors, while increasing thequality of workers in the latter sectors

The upgrading of technological equipment will improve worker productivity and create

a modern, efficient employment sector which can direct the whole economy

The above objectives of HRD are to be achieved both in general socio-economicdevelopment and in HRD in particular They are also seen as the concrete realization ofhuman issues which are the main motivation for implementing the industrialization andmodernization strategy for the years 1996-2000 and beyond

4 Major Policies and Measures for the Implementation of the Above Set forth Objectives

4.1 Population and family planning

Objectives on population and family planning will be realized by communication with,and providing information, education and services to the people

Investment in population and family planning should be increased by using the statebudget, international humanitarian assistance and external loans The annual investment

target of US$ 0.8 per capita should be assured (Source : Ministry of Finance)

in order to generated more jobs (Source: Ministry of Finance)

The implementation of the reforestation program and the increasing exploitation ofmarine resources are serving to creating more jobs for people living in rural and coastalareas

National funds for employment generation should continue to be expanded by usingthe State budget and other resources The policy on rural credit should be strengthened toencourage and expand the number of households receiving access to credit

The system of vocational training and work promotion centers needs to beexpanded In the next 2-3 years at least one work promotion center per province should beestablished to facilitate operation and development of labor markets

4.3 HRD through education and training

Vietnam needs to renovate the present education and training system byincorporating the above features in order to meet the demands put on human resources in

serving social development.(Source: MOET)

HRD objectives, with their focus on education and training, can only be implemented

on the basis of a creative action strategy, appropriate to the conditions of Vietnam, andwhich is able to attract assistance from international communities

TABLES OF HUMAN RESOURCES FIGURES

(Source: Vocational and Professional Secondary Dept MOET)

Table 3.1- On structure of Labor contingent

Table 3.2: Structure of specialties

Graduated from secondary school

Agriculture-Forestry-Fishery branch comprises 15.64%

Graduated from university

Sector of medicine and pharmacy comprises 9.3%

Sector of social science (exeptis pedagogy) comprises 17%

Sector of education and training comprises 33.3%

Post graduated University

Table 3 3: Using trained workers

1 Status of recruitment of workers

Measurement : person

Status of recruitment Total Technician

havingcertificates

Technicianwithoutcertificates

Secondarytechnicalschool

Graduatesand Post-graduates

Chapter 4

Development in education and training and problems to be

addressed

1 Developments in Education and Training

1.1 Development in education and training prior to 1993

In the early 1980s, under the difficult conditions of the socio-economic development

of the country, education and training experienced a serious shortage of financial resourcesand infrastructure Just after 1986, due to the dramatic changes of renovation process,education and training which used to employ centralized methods of management, had toface new difficulties Crèches and kindergartens, which had been subsidized by thecooperatives collapsed In general education, students dropped out of school and teachersabandoned their profession The scope of vocational, technical secondary and highereducation had been limited Resources for education and training were seriously reduced.The quality of education and training fell Management in education and training institutions,

as well as that of all sectors, was unable to adapt to the new circumstances

In the resolutions of the VIth and the VIIth congresses of the Communists Party andthose of the important meeting of the National Assembly, the Government and the CentralParty Committee emphasized the importance of education and training and identified andenacted orientations and policies for further development of education and training in thenew socio-economic climate Following these orientations and policies, teachers,management staff in the education sector, students and their parents, in collaboration withall sectors and concerned agencies, persisted in overcoming difficulties, stimulating creativeinitiatives, and renovating the education and training sector to make it compatible with therenovation process and better able to respond to the requirements of the nation

In the years 1991 and 1992, with assistance from UNDP and UNESCO, Ministry ofEducation and Training implemented the project “ VIE/89/022- Education and HumanResource Sector Analysis” The project identified seven urgent issues which needed to be

addressed within the education and training system: (Source: MOET)

 Decline in quantity and quality at all levels of the general education system

 Poor linkage between vocational technical education and production andemployment

 Irrelevancies of higher education to and poor linkage with research, productionand employment

 Weaknesses in and constraints upon teaching staff

 Lack of financial resources and infrastructure for education and training, and lowefficiency in their utilization

 The inappropriate nature of the organization and management of the educationand training system and its relationship with the legal system

 Inadequacy of education and training in a changing society

The project also identified 20 programs with 44 priority projects to be implementedfrom 1995 up to the year 2010 so as to address the above- mentioned problems

Between 1993 and 1995, the Government has undertaken a series of importantchanges in the education and training sector.

1.2 Developments in Education and Training since 1993

The weaknesses described above have started to be addressee Numerous positiveimprovements have created favorable preconditions are orientations for strengtheningeducation and training in this new stage of national development

The period since 1993 has been marked by increasing scope in all levels ofeducation and training Numbers in informal classes and short courses in informatics, foreignlanguages and vocational training have risen rapidly There have been significantachievements in illiteracy eradication and univesalization of primary education

The education and training system has been restructured to be more comprehensive,diversified, flexible and compatible with the market economy and education and trainingsystem throughout the world The network of general, professional, and higher educationwas reorganized so as to allow effective utilization of teachers and infrastructure

Various improvements in the quality of education and training include advances inpolitical, moral and physical education, the enhancements of profession-oriented education,the expansion of subjects to include foreign languages, music, drawing, informatics andsports, the diversification of secondary education in several streams (conducted on trialbasis), and the facilitate better integration into the international community

The use of schoolrooms in three shifts has been gradually reduced; additionalmodern schools have been constructed; great efforts have been made for schoolmaintenance e and for a better provision of learning aids such as laboratory equipment, andcomputer

Although the portion of state budget allocated to education is modest, it has shown asteady increase over the last four years The policy on participation of the whole society ineducation facilities the mobilization of funds supplementary to the state budget andsignificantly benefits the development of education and training

Consolidation and expansion of education and training in ethnic minority and inremote or less developed areas has achieved positive results through the construction ofboarding schools

Several important education and training developments over the last three yearshave been observed:

1.2.1 Restructuring of the national education system

On 24 November 1993, the Prime Minister issued Decree No.90CP which defines thegeneral framework for the national education system and determines academic degrees,diplomas and certificates of education and training in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

This restructuring aims at creating better conditions for the implementation of anumber of important goals during the coming decade:

- Consolidating primary education, which is legally compulsory for all and will beuniversalized in most regions of Vietnam by the year 2000, and in areas presenting specificdifficulties by the year 2005.

- Better integration between general secondary education and technical educationand vocational training

- Promoting the development of higher education both qualitatively and quantitatively

by diversifying its structure and delivery modes in accordance with international standards inteaching and research

- Creating favorable conditions for the implementation of life long education, thuspromoting equal access to all levels of education

Building on this new national education system, provinces and cities have beenreorganizing their own school network In particular, 1st level schools have been separatedinto primary and lower-secondary schools In 1993, 8734 schools were segmented and thetotal number of newly formed schools is 10137

The number of semi-public and community general education schools has rapidlyincreased from 187 in 1993 to 230 schools in 1994 There are seven community universitiesPeople-founded) opened in Hanoi (3), Ho Chi Minh City (3) and Danang (1)

1.2.2 Promoting the diversification of pre-school education

A significant decrease was observed in kindergarten enrollments between the1989/1990 and 1991/1992 school years Since then, kindergarten enrollments have started

to increase, and in 1993/1994 they surpassed the numbers for 1989/1990 Despite this, thenumber of kindergarten teachers is still on the decline due a lack of appropriate policy

Currently, emphasis is placed on the diversification of pre-school education with mainfocus on promoting privatization and community participation

1.2.3 The eradication of illiteracy and universalization of primary education

Vietnam is making significant progress towards the universaslization of primaryeducation Since 1993, this level has experienced qualitative and quantitative development.Drop-out rates decreased from 12.7% in 1989/1990 to 6.58% in 1993/1994 while repetition

rates diminished from 10.6% in 1989/1990 to 6.8% in 1993/1994 (Source:MOET)

One of the major objectives of the national program Education for All is to completelyeradicate illiteracy in the 5-35 age group, and to universalize primary education for children

of 6 to 11 years By 1994, 35 out of 53 provinces/cities, 157 out of 450 districts/towns, and

3700 out of about 10,000 communes had attained the criteria of illiteracy eradication anduniversalization of primary education In the 15-35 age group, close to 80% have completed

primary education, although in mountainous and remote areas(Source:MOET)

1.2.4 Halting the decline in secondary enrollments, diversifying secondary education and creating centers of excellence

The report of the Education and Human Resources (EHR) sector analysis drewattention to decrease in student enrollment in both lower- and upper secondary educationfrom the 1989/1990 school year and pointed out that this might only be a temporaryphenomenon caused by the transformation to a market economy This assessment appears

to be correct

Since 1992/1993, the temporary decrease in secondary enrollment has come to anend In 1994/1995, overall enrollment in secondary schools surpassed figures recorded forall previous years.

Since 1993, the MOET has diversified upper-secondary education on anexperimental basis Students may attend three different streams, namely natural sciences(stream A), natural sciences and technology (stream B), and social sciences (stream C) Thediversification of secondary education is highly appreciated and supported by students andtheir parents In 1994/1995, this experiment was expanded to 106 schools located in allprovinces and cities throughout the country

Moreover, several centers of excellence have been created on a pilot basis,attracting with three national centers located in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City

1.2.5 Renovation of technical and vocational education and training (TVET)

Some important changes may be observed in TVET in comparison with the year

1992 There are now four categories of TVET, namely vocational training after primaryeducation, vocational training after lower- secondary school, vocational training, andtechnical education after secondary education.( See table 4.1) In addition, professional-oriented and vocational training is being offered increasingly in general education schools,especially in the natural science and technology streams of diversified secondary schools

In almost all districts, provinces and cities of the country, vocational training centersorganize short training programs in industrial, construction and handicraft fields Severalvocational training schools and centers have been equipped with up-to-date technology andfacilities by the State and by international organizations In addition, many private vocationalinstitutions have been created in cities and industrial zones

In 1990, in accordance with the economic renovation, the centralized plannedsystem of admission of students and provision of employment for all graduates from TVETinstitutions was changed The government reduced the budget allocated for all students inTVET institutions These schools now had to generate part of their budget themselves.Some schools stopped their regular training activities, other opened various kinds of trainingcourses for the labor market This explains the decrease in public regular TVET enrollment.Because of the lack of scholarships, potential students of TVET had to opt for short- termvocational training institutions (several weeks to several months)

MOSTE policy for TVET institutions is:

- To allow and to encourage these institutions (public and private) to respond to labormarket demands

- To continue limited subsidies for public TVET for long-term vocational training programs

in priority industries and service sectors aiming at the country’s development in nearfuture, to renovate the training process and method, to modernize training equipment toameliorate the professional and pedagogical capacity of trainers

- To control and ameliorate training quality to establish the official certificate of vocationalcompetence for trainees

Technical education institutions have also been reorganized One objective of thisrenovation is to strengthen the integration of technical education into general secondaryeducation

Table 4.1 State vocational and professional education (Source: MOET)

training schools

Number of students 154,667 142,492 126,950 120,230 82,966 62,614Number of graduates 66,925 51,300 55,410 88,700 39,159 21,087Number of vocational

training centers

200-300Number of people

studying

113,720 125,092 150,110 270,118 300,000

1.2.6 Strengthening higher education

According to the EHR Sector analysis report, in 1992 there were 102 short and cycle higher education institutions in the country with about 126,000 students, including full-time, informal, part-time and in-service students Now, there are 96 higher educationinstitutions throughout the country, comprising 52 long-cycle higher education schools (with

long-29 schools directly supervised by MOET) and 44 short-cycle higher education institutions(with 7 schools supervised by MOET and 36 teacher training institutions)

Over the last 2 years, admission to higher education has been rapidly increasingthanks to expansion and development of short-term training courses, community collegesand the creation of various forms of open admission system

Undergraduate education in divided into 2 stages, namely 2 year basic educationcycle, and 2-4 year specialized education cycle Post graduate education has also beenmodernized by the introduction of two education levels for masters and doctorate degrees.The delivery mode based on a flexible credit system complemented by testing has beendeployed on an experimental basis This new system is gradually being introduced inuniversities and colleges throughout country

The government has decided to establish two national universities in Hanoi and HoChi Minh City, and three regional universities in Bacthai, Hue and Cantho city It has alsoissued a decree strengthening the autonomy of universities and asserting the right to openprivate universities Several information agencies (AIT, France, Germany, Australia,Netherlands, United states) are cooperating with Vietnamese universities on conduct aseries of undergraduate and post graduate training programs

The government has made a special effort to develop higher education in bothquality and quantity, reorganize the network of universities, to improve teaching curriculumand methods, to strengthen infrastructure, to provide teaching aids and facilities, and tointegrate teaching with research and social services with attention to training and upgradingthe qualifications of the teaching staff

1.2.7 Expanding the continuing education system

Continuing education consists of illiteracy eradication, continuing education and service training There are a total of 332 institutions and 170 centers delivering continuingeducation courses with about 5,000 teachers in the formal sector and 2,000 in the informal

in-sector (Source:MOET)

The major objective in the area of illiteracy is to complete the eradication of illiteracyfor the age group 15-35 by the end of the year 2,000 There are now about 2,000,000persons in this age group Since 1990, about 200,000 persons have completed the literacyprogram and upgraded to the third grade This number has increased since 1993

(Source:MOET)

The main objective of complementary education is to provide a secondary levelequivalent training to those who completed primary education but do not have access toformal secondary education Enrollments at this level are decreasing, perhaps due to theimpact of economic transformation In 1989/1990 enrollment was estimated at 325,953

persons, and dropped to 130,000 in 1993/1994 (Source:MOET)

In-service training is being conducted in colleges and universities (with 98,000 term students), open universities (55,000 students), in-service technical training (12,000persons), in-service short-term retraining courses (300,000 persons), informatics trainingprograms (20,000 students), and distance education (1,000 persons)

long-One of the changes in continuing education is the establishment of continuingeducation centers (CEC), which are operating effectively in communes, districts, provincesand cities The CECs at commune and district level are in fact a new version ofcomplementary education schools which have expanded their functions and improved theirflexibility The CECs at provincial and city levels are a renovated utilization of existingtraining centers

Current students in higher education institutions in Vietnam fall into variouscategories:

- Formal students admitted according to the government’s annual education plans, most

of whom have scholarships to cover learning and accommodation cost, and formalstudents, not admitted by governmental plan, who must cover costs themselves

- Informal students, including students learning by distance education and part- timestudents, who pay fees themselves or with some assistance from their companies

- Other types of students, including students of community colleges and other short-termtraining at continuing education centers with post-secondary level courses

1.2.8 Teaching training and upgrading

Prior to 1992, teacher training was conducted in three types of institutions Teachertraining universities trained upper-secondary school teachers, while teacher training collegestrained lower-secondary school teachers and teacher training secondary schools trainedprimary school teachers Due to poor infrastructure and the lack of trainers, the quality of thetraining in these institutions was not entirely satisfactory

Some modifications have been carried out in the teacher training institution network.There are nine teacher training universities and two teacher training faculties (located inCantho and Dalat universities), 36 teacher training colleges and 56 teacher trainingsecondary schools throughout the country The functions of several teacher traininguniversities have been expanded beyond teacher training tasks The training and upgrading

of teachers of primary and lower secondary schools at district level is carried out by the

CECs (Source:MOET)

In the 1993-1994 school year, 591,000 teachers were employed nationally (126,000

in pre-primary education; 275,000 in primary education, 13,000 in lower-secondaryeducation, 35,000 upper secondary education, and 21,000 in higher education) Thenumber and distribution of teaching staff is inappropriate The number of pre-schoolteachers has declined dramatically There is a shortage of teachers in basic subjects, but ashortage in subjects such as citizen education sport, technology, informatics and foreignlanguages universities are also short of qualified staff

1.2.9 Increasing the budget for education

Previously, budget decisions for education were made by the Ministry of Finance(MOF) and central budget allocation were made through MOF offices at the central,provincial and district levels Nowadays decisions are made jointly by MOET and MOF, withMOF responsible for the allocation of recurrent expenditure and MOET for expenditure forspecial programs

Total allocations of funds for education and training continue to increase However,the percentage of the national budget for education and training remained approximately thesame between 1990 and 1994

In 1989/1990 education and training received approximately 10% of the statebudget The estimate is now approximately 11% Projections call for this to increase to 13 or14% between 1996 and 2000

Primary education receives the highest allocation within the sector, followed byhigher education, lower-secondary and secondary vocational/ technical

In addition to the state budget, the community make considerable contributions toeducation, although, very little information is available on current levels of contribution Thestudy of 17 schools conducted as part of the EHRS analysis indicated communitycontributions amounted to 26% of the total cost of education But a more recent study onsocialization of education in Hatay province placed community contributions at 40% of thetotal budget for primary school The MOET report on the implementation of program 7,

“Building Infrastructure and avoiding breaking down” in the 3 years of 1991-1993 showsgovernmental capital at 176,952 billion VND, local capital at 440,030 billion, communitycontributions at 226,501 billion, aid at 20,918 billion and other resources at 18,368 billion.Consequently, governmental capital from government budget represents only 19,2% of thetotal and is equal 78% of the capital from the community contributions

Forecast of governmental budget for education:

- The average annual growth rate of GDP will be 10% for 5 years

- Mobilization of taxes and fees to the State budget will be over 22%

- Expenditure for Education and Training accounts for 9.89% of total expenditures from state budget

- The portion of expenditure for education and training will be annually increased, insuring that the total expenditures from state budget for 5 years 1996-2000

2 Education Development Policy in Vietnam

The Education Development Policy Presented in the resolution on “ContinuedRenovation of the Education and Training cause” was approved at the 14th Plenary Session

of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Vietnam held in January 1993 This aimed

at meeting development requirements, especially those fro industrialization andmodernization

2.1 Guidelines

a Education and Training is one of the highest national; priorities, a driving force inthe country development and a basis condition for the realization of socio-economicobjectives Investment in education is considered on of the principal directions forinvestment for development

b Educational development is aimed at improving knowledge, training, manpowerand talents In education it is necessary to simultaneously enhance equity, excellence andefficiency

c Education should respond to the demands for national development and follow tothe progressive trends of our time such as continuing education, life-long learning

Diversifying the forms of education and Training Trainees must pay tuition fees.Employers should cover costs fro training workers The government should have specificpolicies fro the creation of favorable condition for the poor and those in government care, so

as to enable them to study

2.2 Major policies

2.2.1 General policies for the education system

a Restructuring of the national education system, and the certificate and degree grantingsystem Upgrading public schools, encouraging the opening of semi-public schools andcommunity-based schools, allowing private schools in pe-primary, vocational and highereducation Diversifying the forms of education to include formal, non-formal, full-time, part-time training and distance education

b Redefinition of education and training objectives, redesigning of curricula, schedules,content and improving methods of education and training at every level of education in order

to meet national development requirements, especially the requirements for industrializationand modernization

c Legislation of education policies, increasing the proportion of expenditure for education inthe total government budget Mobilization of other funding resources for education andtraining from people and international organizations Borrowing loans from outside todevelop education.

d Consolidation of teaching staff and educational administrators

e Renovation of education management

2.2.2 Policies for general education

a Universalize quality education by the year 2000 90% of the children aged 6-14 are tohave finished primary education 14% of children under and 40% under 5 to enroll incrèches and kindergarten before attending the first grade

b Implement the universalization of lower-secondary education especially in urban areas.Set up upper-secondary with option-based streams natural science, natural technicalscience and social science

Expand vocational education, diversify the types of schools and classes respond tothe demand for short-term vocational training, train high level skilled worker, supply the welltrained labor force for advanced technologies, and export processing zones Promote thelinking of vocational training with the labor market and employment

Rational expansion of higher education Rearrangement of the network in to 4 types:national universities, regional universities, specialized colleges and institutes, andcommunity colleges Develop training at master and doctoral levels

Promoting of research and application of science and technology, research intoeducational science for the development of education

From now until the year 2000, eradicating illiteracy for those in the 15-35 age group.Developing continuing education (especially non-formal and part-time) based on ensuringquality

Gradually applying technology to distance education

Strengthening and developing education among ethnic minorities and in areas withdifficulties In particular, broadening the system of boarding schools in ethnic minorityregions at province and district level to lay the foundation for labor force training

Priorities given to international cooperation in education and training

1 Developing human resources, especially in the training high level technical skill, highlyqualified manpower aiming at the fields of applying advanced technology and businessmanagement

2 Developing disciplines and specialties necessary for the industrialization andmodernization of the economy with the cooperation of international communities, especially

in setting up centers of excellence

3 Training and fostering teaching staff, educational managers and administrators,exchanging students, information, documents and experiences on education and science.

3 Strategic Orientations for Education Development 1996-2000

3.1 Quantitative Development

MOET and the SPC have prepared a draft Education plan for the nest five years(1996-2000) with longer-term prospective up to 2010 These are based on the macro-economic prospective

The policy of diversify pre-school education realized on the cooperation of the state,enterprises, communities, parents and other organizations However, the general orientation

is that the grade proceeding entry to primary education be devoted to common preparation

of all pupils

The objectives for the quantitative development of the education system up to the year 2000are:

- Eradicating illiteracy for the 15-35 age group in general, and for staff and young people

in the 15-25 age group in remote, less-developed areas

- Completing universalization of primary education by more determined measures,implementing universalization of lower secondary education in large cities, industrialestates and some deltas provinces

- Increasing the net enrollment ratio for the 6-10 age group (primary education) to 90%;the 11-17 age group (general, technical and vocational secondary) to 50% and the 18-

22 age group (higher education) to 5-6% Present figures stand at 80%-85%, 35.2% and2-3% respectively

- Increasing the proportion of the professionally qualified work force from the present rate

of 11% to 18-20% in the year 2000 and to 31-35% in the year 2010 with newqualification relevant to the requirements of the industrialization process

The quantitative objectives for the year 2010 are:

- Most primary schools to teach full days and be semi-boarding (by 2010 enrollment will beclose to 12 million pupils)

- Expanding lower-secondary education, in which 80% of children aged 11-14(approximately 6.7 million) will be enrolled by 2000

- The national implementation of upper-secondary education with diversified streams tocater for 40% the 15-17 age group (2.4 million people), or 63% if technical vocationaleducation enrollments are taken into account

- 20% of the 18-20 age group to enroll in higher education

3.2 Quality for Education and Training

In coming years, great effort will be concentrated on enhancing the quality ofeducation and training The on-going redefinition of objectives, content and curricula should

be conducted under careful monitoring of methods and organizational arrangements.Special attention should be paid to teaching methods and their evaluation Vietnam can takeadvantage of international achievements in education and science and technology whendesigning and implementing the education and training renovation of the country

Human, ethnic and civic education are considered important at primary level Thiscan be especially helpful for students learning political, moral and legal behavior in a timewhen previous values and morals are decline This will protect the social, moral and civicenvironment necessary for human development.

Another important consideration in the quality of education and training in the years

to come its relevance to the needs of the country’s industrialization and modernization.International and regional standards should be taken into account in defining qualitativeobjectives for human resource development

In order to create realistic conditions for closing the quality gap in education andtraining during the next 5-10 years, financial priority and special facilities must be given toselected schools which will function as centers of excellence aiming at building up the wholesystem It is hoped that these schools (10-15% of the sector) will reach the standards of thebest institutions in the region and gradually those of the world While these school will help

to improve the quality of neighboring institutions, they should continue to enhance their ownquality It is hoped that, through this process, most schools will reach the standards of thebets institutions of the region by the year 2010

The same objective will be pursued in higher education with the aim of attainingregional standards by the year 2000

3.3 Education staff and teachers

In order to remedy the current lack in teaching staff and boost the proportion ofqualified staff, it is necessary to improve qualification levels

The present minimum standard are described below

- Kindergarten teachers: secondary pedagogical education (lower secondary +3 )

- Primary school teachers: teacher training college graduates (upper-secondary +3)

- Secondary school teachers (lower and option streams): higher education degree

- Lectures in higher education : postgraduate degree or higher

Objectives for the years 2000 are that

- 15-20% of primary school teachers and 3-5% of kindergarten teachers will be graduatesfrom teacher training colleges

- All teachers of lower- secondary school will have the same qualifications but that 20% will have a higher education degree

18 All upper-secondary teachers will be higher education graduates, of which 3-5% willhave postgraduate degrees

- 35-40% of university lectures will have postgraduate degrees with 15-18% withdoctorates

In terms of quantity, the immediate problem is to meet the demand for primary schoolteachers (60,000 are lacking), in order to reach the objective of universalization of primary education by the year 2000 Per-service training, in service training and upgrading of

primary school teachers will not be sufficient meet this important requirement In order to reach remote and deprived areas, an agreement will be reached with the Ministry of

Defense for the creation of a special military service option, in which volunteers could serve

as teachers, providing they had finished upper-secondary school (or the 9th grade for those

of mountainous areas) and had received some pedagogical training Those who desire so can letter be trained to become professional teachers.

According to enrollment projections to the year 2010 the number of teachers will be 1.1 million, twice as much as is needed at present

Policies concerning the teaching staff at all levels, should contain provisions aiming

at raising the social position of the profession, giving teachers salary and allowancesresponding to their positions, as was defined by the Resolution of the 4th Plenary Session ofthe central committee of the Party By doing so, the motivation of teachers will be enhancedand these conditions will attract qualified personnel to work for the educational sector

3.4 School building and facilities

The objectives for the year 2000 are summarized as follows:

All temporary classrooms (are made of bamboo) will be replaced by semi-durable ordurable classrooms with priority given to 4th grade or higher A second objective is to buildenough classrooms to ensure that the 10% of primary school can provide full-day programs

To achieve these objectives it will be necessary to build an average of 32,090classrooms per year, of which :

- Primary schools need - 14,660 new classrooms

- 10,200 classrooms replacing the temporary ones

- Lower secondary schools need - 5,060 new classrooms

- 2,170 classrooms replacing temporary buildings

3.5 Contents, curricula and methods

- At primary level: 20% of schools (mainly in mountainous, remote and flood-proneareas) shall fully and effectively implement the curriculum of 100 weeks/120 weeks; 70% ofthe schools (mainly schools of deltaic, midland and suburban areas) shall fully implementthe curriculum issued by the MOET; 10% of the schools will follow a full-day schedule.Schools designated as centers of excellence will also have to assist in the creation ofcurricula for use in their levels

- At secondary level, all general secondary schools will follow a general curriculumwith the newly-created option streams, of which 10-15% of schools will follow a high-qualitycurriculum (specialized and key schools)

- Regular vocational training will undergo on-going definition of objectives, curricula,contents and methods in accordance with the requirements of HRD Short-term trainingactivities will also be developed

- In higher education, all universities and colleges in a process of restructuring.Higher education is undergoing a revision and modernization of the curriculum, aiming tomake the teaching -learning process more relevant to the needs of the country’s socio-economic development The 4-5 years undergraduate training process is devided into twophases Phase 1 consists of two years of foundation knowledge and techniques Phase 2consists of two or 3 years of specialized study In national or regional universities a college

of basic sciences is responsible for the teaching for the first phase; specialized colleges and

departments being responsible for the second phase Students completing the first phase atcommunity colleges have the right to participate in the examination for the admittance to thesecond phase Institutions of higher learning are encourage to cooperate closely withenterprises and research institutes to develop practical skills and creative thinking inacademic staff and students and efficiently contribute to the country’s development Schools

of basic science, which are networking with national and regional universities as well assome local community colleges, will gradually take over the first cycle of training, whilespecialized universities and faculties belonging to national and regional universities will beresponsible for the second cycle Other universities will train at the two levels With a view toaccelerating technical development, and to ensure the rapid utilization of new technology,universities and colleges should establish close relations with the business world andpropose their services to enterprises There is a clear need to link practical skills, trainingand creative thinking

3.6 Other policies and measures

In addition to the policies and measures promulgated by the Government in the field

of education and training that are now in effect, stronger and more decisive measuresshould be sought and proposed

a) Staff development and motivation

Salary should be determined according to performance, professional skills, expertise,and creative capacity At the same time, attention should be given to encouraging theeducation staff to work in under-developed areas and less-attractive but necessaryprofessions

Specifically in the education sector, it is necessary to take a number of measures toassert the importance of the social position of teachers, enhance respect for the teachingprofession, encourage teachers to work in remote, less-developed areas and attractingqualified personnel to work in the sector

b) Cost sharing

The responsibilities of the Government are to support the poor, geographical areaswith special difficulties; take care of poor but gifted students and ensure conditions in whichall people can attain the minimal level of primary education It will also concentrate on thebuilding of high- quality centers, key schools and private branches

- The responsibilities of public and private enterprises concerning their cooperation withthe Government in the financing of education and training are the making ofcontributions, in which they take account of their revenue/profits and the number andlevel of qualified staff they employ

- Parents are responsible for the contributions to school building

This policy should be assertive in transferring a considerably large number of publicschools, including primary schools in urban/developed areas, to the semi-public sub-system

in order to save resources and to re-invest them in under-developed areas and higher levels

of education This is seen as one method of efficiently utilizing part of the resources forreaching specific policy objectives This solution appears feasible , since a part of the urbanpopulation is capable of paying fees desires high-quality educational institutions

c) More efficient use of budget resources

Policies and measures to be brought into effect include higher allocations per student

in less-developed areas; the enforcement of strict financial management; increasing theautonomy of provincial educational offices and universities; the establishment of controlmechanisms against loss, irrational and inefficient distribution of staff at all levels of theeducational administration

d) Investing in training of education experts

Creating a corps of high level specialists in educational research, planning andmanagement with expertise in both theoretical and practical aspects of their field is a keyissue for accelerating the renovation of the education system in Vietnam This core group ofspecialists should play a leading role in research, innovation and policy elaboration from themacro to the micro level

In this chapter, we were summarized the major education policies and problems of education system in Vietnam In next chapter, we will focus on the system of middle

technical schools and vocational schools in Vietnam and description problem of training skilled labor

Chapter 5 The system of middle technical schools and vocational schools in

Vietnam

1 Background

The system of middle technical and vocational schools belongs to the secondaryeducation of Vietnam’s national education It is the duty of middle vocational education totrain intermediate- level technicians for all areas of national economy and to constitute asupplying source of colleges and universities And as is implied in their names, vocationalschools turns out skilled workers and qualified for production and service establishments,and junior skilled labors to help universalize trades among the young people and theworking people The system of middle technical and vocational schools saw its developmentmuch later than the general education and higher education system through the followingperiods:

1.1 The 1945-1954 period

This initial period has laid the foundation for the future development of the system

As far as vocational schools are concerned, prior to 1945, there were only 4 practicaltechnical schools training mechanics and electricians After the outbreak of the resistancewar, these schools were either moved out of towns or disbanded In order to meet thedemands of the nation’s economy and of the war, training course on mechanics,communication, irrigation, and chemicals were opened at production units These courseswere to develop throughout a long process- into what is the present vocational schoolssystem

1.2 The 1954-1965 period

A new policy in this period was to open local vocational schools to serve localeconomy, first and foremost, agriculture Of the 112 schools, 56 were locally run enrolledover 30% of the vocational school students in the country The enrollment was as much as42,000 students involved in 82 branches In 1965, there were 200 vocational schools andcourses with 30,000 students Of them, 50 vocational schools had 8,000 student, theremainder were trained in vocational courses or through practical guidances in factories

1.3 The 1965-1975 period

Since 2/1965, middle vocational training has expanded in scale to meet the demands

of the resistance- war and national construction In 1970, there were 213 middle vocationalschools with nearly 124,000 students However, the massive development was at theexpense of training quality, especially practice skill Soon, after, readjustments were made

by narrowing the training scale to guarantee the quality The network of schools was arranged and by early 1975, there were 186 vocational schools with nearly 70,000 students,

re-of them 94% followed formal, intensive courses; the remainder, short-term courses

refresher-1.4 The 1975- 1985 period