Assessment of capability, knowledge and skills of vocational school graduates a basis for enhanced industry academy cooperation

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Meaning GDVT General Department of Vocational Training GIZ German Society for International Cooperation, Ltd HaUI Hanoi University of Industry MOIT Mi

I have to acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues and students at Hanoi University of Industry in the process of distributing and collecting questionnaires from over

230 enterprises Without this support, I could not have gathered such huge database for research and analysis

I would like to express my appreciation to the support from the leaders of Hanoi University of Industry The university has created necessary conditions including time, budget and other priorities for me to complete the DBA course and the final thesis on time Thanks for the support and encouragement from the fellows and teachers at Hanoi University of Industry, especially comments on expertise from colleagues in Faculty of Business Administration

A special thanks goes to Thai Nguyen University and Southern Luzon State University for their cooperation in this training program which provides me with an opportunity to participate in and conduct the project that I have long cherished

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my guide

Dr A Walberto Macaraan from Southern Luzon State University for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this thesis

Last but not least, many thanks go to my family They are always beside me and encourage me through the duration of my studies I am also indebted this achievement to my beloved wife and two daughters for their great help and support

Sincerely thank you

Thai Nguyen, May 2013

Thai Nguyen University

Principal Supervisor: Dr A Walberto Macaraan

From Southern Luzon State University

August, 2013

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Meaning

GDVT General Department of Vocational Training

GIZ German Society for International Cooperation, Ltd HaUI Hanoi University of Industry

MOIT Ministry Of Industry and Trade

MOLISA Ministry Of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs NVQs National Vocational Qualifications

QCA Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

SLSU Southern Luzon State University

SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises

TNU Thai Nguyen University

VCCI Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background

“The current quality of training institutions has not really met the need of the labor market There are many factors affecting training quality of schools A major cause is the relationship between schools and businesses in the area of education has not been concerned

in a highly effective way The participation of enterprises in the training process is very limited” (MOIT, 2011)

In this context, I have selected the topic: “Assessment of capability, knowledge and skill of vocational school graduates: A basis for enhanced industry-academe cooperation” as thesis topic for DBA course The research results will provide a basis for

solutions for the improvements of vocational training quality in Vietnam

1.2 Problem Statement

The current quality of graduates from vocational schools has not really met the needs

of the labor market One of the major factors affecting the quality of graduates lies in an uneffective cooperation between schools and businesses and a limited participation of enterprises in the training process

The overall objective of this research is to improve industry-academe cooperation in enhancing skills and knowledge of vocational school graduates

1.3 Reseach Objectives

This research is conducted with four objectives: (1) to advance understanding of the cooperation between enterprises and vocational training schools and confirm the fact that the cooperation is very important for vocational schools; (2) to assess capability, knowledge and skills of graduates from vocational schools and the impact of school-enterprise cooperation on knowledge and skills of graduates; (3) to indentify the major factors for developing program collaboration between enterprises and vocational training schools in order to improve vocational training quality; and (4) to propose some solutions for improving collaboration between enterprises and vocational training schools in the future

1.4 Research Questions

With the above objectives, the following questions are addressed to meet the objectives of this dissertation:

Q1 What are the problems encountered by the enterprises about the skills and

knowledge of vocational school graduates in terms of (1) Desired skills for their position, (2) Knowledge required for their position, (3) Work attitude ?

Q2 What are the problems encountered by the schools about the skills and knowledge

of vocational school graduates as needed by the industry in terms of (1) Curriculum Program, (2) Qualification of Faculty, (3) Machineries ?

Q3 What is the existing collaboration program that exists between the school and

industry in terms of (1) Internship, (2) Scholarship to students, (3) Donation/Grants for training, (4) Information exchange ?

Q4 Which content of program collaboration affects the quality of graduates ?

Q5 Is there any significant difference between the perception of different groups of

respondent ?

Q6 What program collaboration can be developed to improve the cooperation

between school and industry ?

Q7 How to improve the industry- academe cooperation? (solutions)

H2 There are differences in the assessment of capability, knowledge and skills of

graduates between different types of businesses (by ownership, by industries);

H3 Enterprises are willing to cooperate with schools in vocational training activities; H4 Vocational schools are not satisfied with the conditions to ensure the quality of

vocational training;

H5 There is no differences between enterprises/ schools in the assessment of the

benefits of school-enterprise cooperation;

H6 There is a link between the assessment of conditions to ensure training quality and

school-enterprise cooperating activities

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study

Subjects of the study include vocational training schools of MOIT The enterprises in partnership with MOIT’s schools have been surveyed to assess capability, knowledge and

skill of graduates from vocational schools and to receive their opinions about the enterprise cooperation To obtain specific evaluation results from the enterprises, the author chooses to survey the knowledge and skills of graduates in Mechanics and Electrics/Electronics These are 02 majors trained in all of 12 surveyed schools as well as most other vocational schools in Vietnam (GDVT, 2012)

school-The actual survey data (primary) are conducted during the period from 9/2012 to 3/2013 The secondary data are based on national statistics and reports made by the MOIT,

MOET, MOLISA, GDVT between 2010-2012

The research instruments are mainly interviews and survey with questionnaires

1.7 Reseach Definitions

- Quality of graduates

- Industry – Academe Cooperation

1.8 Significance of the Study

The significance of the research results will be addressed as followings:

(1) To advance understanding of the cooperation between enterprises and vocational training schools in order to help the colleges under MOIT to improve the quality of graduates;

(2) Provide scientific basis for the leaders and teachers at vocational schools to implement solutions in the improvement of vocational training in general and of industry-academy cooperating program in particular

(3) Provide basis for managerial agencies in the establishment and completion of rules/mechanism to promote the participation of businesses in vocational training progress and in the development of industry-academy cooperation

(4) Provide references for teaching and learning about business or vocational school administration, for researchers and for those who interested in vocational training and industry-academy cooperation

1.9 Structure of the Study

The dissertation consists of five chapters

Chapter I : Introduction

Chapter II : Review related literature and studies

Chapter III: Methodology

Chapter IV: Presentation, analysis and interpretat of data

Chapter V : Summary of findings, concusions and recommendations

1.10 Conclusion

The purpose of this study is to indentify the major factors for developing program collaboration between enterprises and vocational training schools in order to improve knowledge and skills of graduates from vocational schools

This study has great practical significance for the development of human resources training Its findings will be useful for not only schools under MOIT but other schools as well Besides, this study provides scientific basis for management agencies in developing policies

to encourage the development of relations between schools and businesses

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

2.1 International related research

2.2 National related research

2.3 Theoretical and conceptual framework

2.3.1 The quality of training

2.3.2 The criteria for assessing the quality of vocational training

2.3.3 Factors affecting the quality of vocational training

a External factors

b The internal factors

Quality of vocational training is the result of positive impacts of all elements in training system and training process in a certain environment These factors can be

generalized in Figure 2.3

Figure 2.3 The factors influencing quality of graduates (Phan Chinh Thuc, 2003)

2.3.4 Cooperation between schools and enterprises in vocational training 2.3.4.1 The contents of cooperation

- Cooperation in setting up traing plan

Environment for vocational training

Quality

of gradua- tes

Feedback

- Cooperation in providing facilities and finance

- Cooperation in providing teachers

- Cooperation in designing training curricula

- Cooperation in information exchange

2.3.4.2 The level of cooperation

- Comprehensive cooperation

- Partial cooperation (limited)

2.3.4.3 Influence of cooperation on the knowledge and skill of graduates

Cooperation between schools and businesses will basically and comprehensively affect all factors Thus, it will impact the quality of vocational training and the knowledge and skill of graduates

Figure 2.4 The impact of school-business cooperation in vocational training quality

(The author has synthesized from the above analyses)

Knowledge and Skills of Graduates

2.4 Analysing framework

From analysis above, the author has proposed the following model to examine the collaboration between enterprises and vocational training schools (Figure 2.5) For example, a framework for analysing collaboration in curriculum development is presented in Figure 2.6

Figure 2.5 A framework for analysing collaboration between enterprises and vocational

training schools (The author has built up from practical and theoretical analyses)

Figure 2.6 A framework for analysing collaboration in curriculum development

(The author has built up from practical and theoretical analyses)

Quality graduates

Requirement of the industry

Curriculum

Assessment of

existing situation

Cooperation school – industry

School - Enterpise Cooperation

Industry needs in

knowlegde and skills

of graduates

Hindrance of the cooperation

Vocational training in school: Curriculum, Faculty qualification, Facilities

Benefits of

cooperation

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methods used in this research The methods in use show a combination between quantitative and qualitative research Data include secondary data from statistical reports and primary data from in-depth interviews, typical case studies and survey

by questionnaires The content of this chapter includes (1) Research design, (2) Determination

of Sample, (3) Research instrument, (4) Data gathering procedure, (5) Data processing method, (6) Assessment of the reliability of the scale, (7) Statistical treatment

3.1 Research design

Design of the research is shown in the following Figure 3.1

Figure 3.1 Research Design

theory

Design of tools to collect data

Collection, treatment and analysis of data from vocational schools

Collection, treatment and analysis of data from enterprises

Analysis and comparison

Findings, conclusion and proposal

3.2 Determination of sample

3.2.1 Subject, vocational schools sample

According to recent statistical report, MOIT has 32 schools The author chose to study

10 schools for the survey They are large schools (in terms of the number of students) and have many collaborative activities with enterprises according to the author’s observation

In comparison, the author also surveyed 02 vocational schools out of MOIT with large number of students apprentices, 01 of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 01 of Nghe An province

HaUI’s collaboration with enterprises is in deep research

3.2.2 Subjects and sample of enterprises

The businesses selected for the survey are currently in partnership with vocational schools of MOIT, and 02 schools outside MOIT Without an accurate population of enterprises cooperating with these schools, the author recommends an introduction of a list of

250 companies to survey The businesses are all surveyed by questionnaires Respondents consist of leaders (directors, deputy directors) or managers (head/deputy head of the production department, of training department and of human resources department) 01 enterprise is chosen for direct and in-depth interview

3.3.2 Questionnaire

Two kinds of questionnaire are in use for the study: Questionnaire for vocational schools and questionnaire for enterprises

3.4 Data gathering procedure

To conduct the actual survey, works are implemented as belows:

(1) Send e-mails and telephone for acceptance and schedule

(2) Guideline for direct survey

(3) Scenario and survey schedule

3.5 Data processing method

After collecting the data using survey instruments, data are imported and cleaned Import and store data:

Data are entered and stored on computer Excel spreadsheet software and SPSS statistical software are used for importing and processing Each questionnaire is assigned an

ID Each question (variable) is named in accordance with the provision of the SPSS variable declaration

3.6 Evaluation the reliability of scales

Cronbach Alpha calculation method is used to evaluate the reliability of the scale with many indicators using many variables to study a problem

3.7 Statistical treatment

3.7.1 Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics analysis helps to observe each variable thoroughly and understand the nature of the data, from which we can understand the subject/ research issue via these variables Upon understanding the nature of the statistical data, we can realize the relationship between variables and orientate the analysis applying further analysing techniques such as comparison, correlation, regression (Tran Tien Khai, 2007) The author uses SPSS to calculate the quantities such as Max, Min, Mean, Median, Mode, Std.Deviation, Variance for quantitative variables and set up table of frequencies for qualitative variables

3.7.2 Accreditation of the relationship

T-test accreditation is used to check the relationship between the ordinal variables, interval and calculate correlation coefficient r and Chi-square (X2) is used to check the

relationship between nominal variables

3.7.3 Data presentation

Data presenting tools in the thesis include tables and graphs Tables are built by the SPSS software while graphs are drawn by EXCEL