Relevance of information technology graduates’ competencies to the industry needs

Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – ĐHTN http://www.lrc.tnu.edu.vnRELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES’ COMPETENCIES TO THE INDUSTRY NEEDS ___________________________ A DISSERTATI

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Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – ĐHTN http://www.lrc.tnu.edu.vn

RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES’

COMPETENCIES TO THE INDUSTRY NEEDS

_

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

in Collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

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October 2014

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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that the research work / dissertation entitled RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES’ COMPETENCIES TO THE INDUSTRY NEEDS, orally defended/ presented under the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management Program jointly offered by Southern Luzon State University

of the Republic of the Philippines and Thai Nguyen University of the Socialist Republic

of Vietnam, embodies the result of original and scholarly work carried out by the undersigned

This dissertation does not contain words or ideas taken from published sources or written works by other persons which have been accepted as basis for the award of any degree from other higher education institutions, except where proper referencing and acknowledgement were made

BUI NGOC TUAN

Researcher Date Orally Defended: June, 27,2014

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Sincerest appreciation is extended to the following individuals who in their own special ways have made this dissertation a reality:

Dr Cecilia Gascon, President of Southern Luzon State University,

Republic of the Philippines, for her immeasurable contribution in the development of the joint program of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management between Southern Luzon State University and Thai Nguyen University;

Prof Dr Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam for his approval in the offering of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, Philippines;

Prof Dr Tran Van Dien, Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture

and Forestry, for his invaluable assistance in the establishment of the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, Philippines;

Dr Nguyen Tuan Anh, Former Director of the International Training

Center, Thai Nguyen University, for his enthusiasm in the establishment of the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, Philippines;

The Panel of Examiners, for their remarkable comments, suggestions

and recommendations to enhance this thesis manuscript;

Dr Conrado Abraham, his thesis adviser, for his unparalleled guidance

and advice in conducting this research;

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The Visiting Professors including Dr.Arivalan, Dr Balakrishnan, Dr Walberto A Macaraan, Dr Lee Kar Ling, Dr W.Johnson, Dr Teresita V de

la Cruz, and Dr Apolonia A Espinosa and other professors, for sharing

their most precious time and abundance of knowledge during the whole

duration of this study;

The information and communication departments in the provinces: Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Police Bac Kan, National Academy of Public Administration, for approving the request to conduct the study;

The Graduates – respondents of the study, for their active involvement, without their cooperation, the result of this dissertation could not have been possible;

His loving classmates and colleagues, for the endless support and

friendship which inspired the researcher to do his best in finishing the study;

His wife, his son and his parents, for their encouragement, financial,

moral and spiritual supports and for continuously believing that he can finish the task to the best of his abilities

Bui Ngoc Tuan (Future)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

TITLE PAGE ……… i

APPROVAL SHEET ……… ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……… iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……… iv

DEDICATION ……… vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… vii

LIST OF TABLES ……… ix

LIST OF FIGURES ……… x

LIST OF APPENDICES ……… xi

ABSTRACT ……… xii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Introduction ………

1 Background of the Study ………

13 Objectives of the Study ………

20 Hypothesis of the Study ………

21 Significance of the Study ………

21 Scope and Limitation of the Study ………

22 Definition of Terms ………

23

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1 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the

3 Weighted Mean and Rank Distribution of IT Graduate with

Highly Skilled Qualities

66

4 Weighted Mean and Rank Distribution of IT Graduate in

High Professional Capacity

67

5 Weighted Mean and Rank Distribution of IT Graduate with

High Work Ability

69

6 Industry’s Knowledge Requirement for IT Graduate

Students

70

7 Industry’s Skill Requirement for IT Graduate Students 71

8 Industry’s Working Attitude Requirement for IT Graduate

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2 Schematic Representation of the Independent Variable,

Dependent Variable and the Results of the Study 55

LIST OF APPENDICES

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ABSTRACT

Title of Research : RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

GRADUATES’ COMPETENCIES TO THE INDUSTRY NEEDS

Degree Conferred : DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATIONAL

MANAGEMENT Name and Address

of Institution

: Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon, Philippines and Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Year Written : 2013 - 2014

According to international assessment agencies on Information Technology and Communication, Vietnam has information technology and communication development index (IDI) ranking at 86 out of 161 nations and rank 4th position in Southern East Asia (2012) Networked Readiness Index (NRI) of Vietnam ranked at 84 out of 144 nations and 5th position in Southern East Asia in 2012 With regards to information technology industry, Vietnam ranked 8th worldwide on software processing activities (Tholon Corporation, 2011), one of the top ten nations in Asia Pacific and top thirty worldwide (Gartner Corporation, 2012) Vietnam has been highly considered on public service and application of information technology on state agencies For the norms of electronic Administration/Government, Vietnam has been classified at

4th position in South East Asia and 81 out of 190 nations in 2012

Regarding human resource quality, Vietnam ranked 101 out of 161 nations in 2012 and highly considered on education qualification of

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mathematics and science subjects Nowadays, human resource on information technology is not only very limited in number in Vietnam, but it is also lacking in the world It has a shortage of 4 million engineers on information technology (IT) In Vietnam demand of human resource on software industry (PM) has been dramatically increasing From 2011 to 2015, Vietnam is estimated to need about 20.000 - 25.000 engineers on IT While education and training capacity

of human resource on information technology provides about 34.448 engineers, 41.048 ones in 2010 and 2012, respectively In fact number of qualified IT engineers under employer’s requirements are even much smaller

According to employer’s statistics database, Vietnamese IT engineers

are very weak in communication skill, professional working style, and English proficiency Moreover, about 64% of human resource is weak in group working ability Thus, they could not integrate and adapt to employer’s standards after

being recruited Up to 71% graduation students have not adapted to technology advance change, and 90% of the students has insufficiency in foreign language Therefore, Vietnamese IT staffs could only utilize 60% of their capacity and became obstacles for enterprise’s recruitment

According to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan: “In IT industry,

Vietnam has very good potentials to cooperate with international partners The question is how to attract more and more foreign investors participating in IT

human resource education and training” Therefore, this study “Relevance of information technology graduates’ competencies to the industry needs”

was conducted The objective of this study is to assess IT student capacity of

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Thai Nguyen University in meeting enterprise’s demand and to find out gap

between training education quality and real requirements The findings of this study are scientific evidences for policy-makers, educational institutions, educators, and students in improving education program and efficiency

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Chapter I INTRODUCTION

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research It is essential for everyone and the level of education helps people earn respect and recognition

It is a fact that the importance of education is undeniable for every single person It goes without saying that education has a positive effect on human life All people need to access to education Only with the advent of education can people gain knowledge and enlarge their view over the world

Education plays such a rudimentary role in our society that we cannot even imagine a life without it It is a determined element for the civilization of human society Not only does it helps us develop healthy surroundings but it also generates an advance community As a matter of fact, everything we create today is based on the knowledge that we obtain throughout our life by way of education This assists scientists in inventing equipment and devices, resulting in a high technology nowadays The more developed life becomes, the more necessary education is for everyone because the development of a country depends vastly on the standard of education, and it must do everything

to improve it Although the educational systems of different countries are not similar, they share a common goal which is to provide its citizens suitable and proper learning Education is absolutely beneficial for the society as a whole It

is a life-long process for each person that needs to be reinforced throughout

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life However, we need an education system that may eradicate illiteracy and may provide the common man an access not only to basic education but also

to higher and technical education

Viet Nam’s competitive advantage in the global economy depends on qualified and skilled workforce A troubling gap, however, currently exists between the skills and knowledge of the country’s current and projected

workforce and the demands of jobs expected to grow most rapidly during the next decade

From 1st of October to 15th of October 2012 in Hanoi, the 11th steering committee of the party held the 6th meeting to discuss and draw the resolutions

on building the project “Fully and fundamentally innovate the education and training in the market economy which is oriented to the socialist and international integration; and “Develop science and technology to support the

industrialization and modernization in the market which is oriented towards socialist and international integrations.”

The steering committee of the party identified that for a secured leading

of the party and for the consideration of the whole nation as well as the efforts

of the teachers, managers and scientist communities are the reasons that the science and technology of the nation obtained important achievements on the quantity and quality of the education in all levels, including management, scientific research and applications, market and services for the science and technology, and international collaboration

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Today, most trades, fields or activity in modern society also need contributions from Information Technology (IT) What makes IT important? The demand for the products of this sector is enormous and growing The presence

of IT is everywhere, it may be the phone you are using with a lot of software pre-installed inside, and the entire banking system would stop functioning if there’s trouble in the software system In the same way, banking to aviation,

telecommunications to the areas such as defense security, application of IT is also very important So, in order to operate, develop systems and applications

of information technology, human resources require a very large and continue increase in the coming years Besides the expert knowledge required to be equipped in universities, graduate students often find it difficult to find work because of lack of job skills There are many skills that a group of workers need But, where are the skills that employers are demanding Vietnam group of new candidates for university graduates This study’s purpose is to answer the abovementioned questions

Results of the study will help the students in the groups to be equipped with the appropriate skills required by employers On the other hand, it also provides important reference information for units training in the process of designing training programs associated with the practical needs of society and students' needs Results of the study are more useful for employers in designing recruitment programs, training, coaching and development of their staff

Developing Viet Nam ICT brand name Products and Service

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On September 22nd, 2010, the Prime Minister promulgated the Decision

No 1755/QD-TTg approving the National Strategy on “Transforming Viet Nam into an advanced ICT country”, which defines strategic missions to accelerate

the IT industry of Viet Nam Some of the important missions are to improve the capacity and competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises, and to develop Viet Nam’s ICT brand-name products and services To accomplish these missions and implement the campaign, “Vietnamese people prefer Vietnamese products” of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Government’s Resolution No 11/NQ-CP dated February 24th, 2011 regarding measures to control inflation, stabilize the macro-economy and ensure social welfare In this regard, the Ministry of Information and Communications launched the Program in Promoting the development of Viet Nam ICT brand-name products and services (VIBrand) in 2011

VIBrand 2011 leverages the nation’s patriotism in encouraging domestic

consumers to choose Viet Nam ICT brand-name products and services, thereby, creating a competitive market for Vietnamese enterprises to provide highly qualified ICT products and services not only for domestic demands but also for exports The program brings together government agencies, national and foreign enterprises and investors, as well as Vietnamese consumers to cooperate and enjoy shared benefits for the following:

For government agencies: The program has provided a broad overview

of the current development of the IT market in Viet Nam and suggested solutions to the challenges and bottlenecks in order to create a conducive

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condition and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese IT enterprises These understandings will help responsible agencies build appropriate support programs in the upcoming years;

For Vietnamese IT enterprises: The program creates a venue for enterprises to express their needs and recommendations to the state management agencies, share their experiences, promote their images, and seek business cooperation opportunities;

For consumers: Through this program, a variety of top ICT products and services were introduced to the domestic consumers It was a valuable opportunity for IT enterprises to provide adequate and accurate information on their trademarks and products, thus allowing for stronger trust and higher usage

of Viet Nam’s ICT brand-name products and services

For foreign investors and enterprises: The program analyzes the potential developments of IT market in Viet Nam, where demand for specialized products and services in particular technical fields has yet to fully emerged The program has also allowed investors and foreign enterprises to explore the opportunity for joint ventures with Vietnamese IT businesses providing IT products and services Thus far, VIBrand 2011 has received the support and participation of various Ministries, agencies, associations and IT enterprises nationwide, as well as international partners In this context, the Ministry of Information and Communications is developing and implementing the VIBrand

2012 on a larger scale, with the hope to bring about a greater impact

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Together with VIBrand, the Ministry of Information and Communications

is conducting several related activities, namely: periodically updating a list of

IT products suitable for government-funded organizations and agencies; developing and publishing the “Catalogue of Viet Nam IT products”; implementing the “National Brand” program in cooperation with Ministry of

Industry and Trade; and promoting youth innovation in the IT sector in cooperation with Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union These activities will contribute substantially to the development of the IT industry and operationalize the National Strategy on “Transforming Viet Nam into an advanced ICT country”

In recent years, under the leadership of the Party and the Government, the ICT sector of Viet Nam has been continuously moving forward, fostering the development of infrastructure system, and contributing positively to the socio-economic growth In 2011, although the Vietnamese economy still faced many challenges due to the negative effects of the global economic crisis, this sector maintained its growth and continuously gained many important achievements

The telecommunication infrastructure was modernized to cover the whole country with and had met international standards in providing good quality services and improving customer satisfaction IT application in government agencies has been adopted widely and contributed to a significant extent to public administration reform efforts

The educational system on ICT human resource was scaled up both in volume and form In view of this, 290 universities and colleges had ICT faculties

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or departments (only 13 compared with 2010) and the quota of ICT-related student’s enrolment was 64,796 students (only 4,000 students compared with 2010) In 2011, there were 41,908 students graduating in different ICT majors; 173,107 studying in ICT faculties or departments; and 55,197 ICT students are enrolled in these institutions

The policy and regulatory environment for ICT development was gradually improved in order to assure the transparency and clarity to facilitate procedures and to ensure strict law enforcement Specifically, the establishment of Viet Nam Telecommunication Authority in August 2011 was considered a big step to strengthen the public management capacity in the field

of telecommunications and the Internet

In particular, on January 16th, 2012, the 4th Congress of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam promulgated the Resolution

No 13-NQ/TW on Building a synchronous infrastructure system with a view to transform Viet Nam into a modernized industrial country by 2020 The resolution places strong emphasis on “Improving the capacity to leverage technology and manage effectively the information infrastructure and content

to assist the Party’s and the Government’s leadership; meeting the demand of

information exchange and flow within the society to boost socio-economic development to ensure the national defense and security, information security, state sovereignty over the cyber space Further, the development in the networking system inside the country and with other nations to form the country’s information super highway and in enhancing the application of

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information technology in the management of the socio- economic infrastructure and the whole economy This is considered a top priority in the industrialization and modernization process of each strategic economic sector; and in accelerating the information technology industry including the software industry in a fast and sustainable manner

The fundamental guiding objectives of the strategy by 2020

By 2020, Information Technology and Communication of Vietnam will have been an important sector which contributes positively to increase GDP growth rate The Information Technology and Communication of Vietnam will reach the advanced level among ASEAN countries and contribute to the successful implementation of the industrialization and modernization of the country, paving the way for the development of knowledge economy and information society

Information Technology and Communication infrastructure will achieve the targets of the service level equivalent to the average of industrialized countries, diversify the type of services, catch up with the trend of technology convergence and Telecommunications Services - Information Technology - Communications, form integrated network by new generation technology, broadband, high capacity in everywhere and at all times with any access devices to meet the needs of application of Information Technology and Communications, shorten the digital technology gap and ensure better security and defense

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Information Technology and Communication infrastructure will achieve the targets of the service level equivalent to the average of industrialized countries, diversify the type of services, catch up with the trend of technology convergence and Telecommunications Services - Information Technology - Communications, form integrated network by new generation technology, broadband, high capacity in everywhere and at all times with any access devices to meet the needs of application of Information Technology and Communications, shorten the digital technology gap and ensure better security and defense

Information Technology and Communication industry will become a key economic sector and an important step in the chain of processing, manufacturing and global supply, ensure the high-speed growth, modern technology and produce variety of products with high level of creativity Some important industrial products of electronic sector, hardware, software will reach the level of developed countries Software industry and content industry will be developed and also intellectual property and copyright will be respected

Human Resources in Information Technology and Communication will reach the level of ASEAN leading countries in the quantity, quality and level to meet the requirements in management, manufacturing, service and application for domestic use and international export People, especially teenagers will have universalized information technology and improve the level and information technology application skills

Solutions to strategic implementation

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a) Improve awareness about the role of IT and communication

Raise awareness of information society, knowledge economy and the role of IT and communication in the entire society via all means of dissemination with a special focus on mass media Leaders in all levels should be aware of the importance of IT and communication that should be given a high national priority; IT and communication should be paid attention and created favorable condition for its application; exemplary and taking a lead in application of IT and communication

b) Finalizing mechanism, policy and legislation

Conduct auditing and complete all legal documents, mechanisms and policies in order to create a favorable conditions for supporting the application and development of IT and communication in order to meet the requirements

of global economic integration, national defense and security; enhance indigenous development, facilitate cooperation and fair competition among enterprises; create good conditions for all economic sectors participate in the markets; complete the market economic regulations gearing toward socialism

in IT and communication, while at the same time catch up with the integration trend among telecommunication services, IT and communication

c) Implementation of the strategy and plans

Formulate and implement the strategy and sectoral plans in order to utilize and save investment capital, resources and other national resources, ensuring the realization of national socioeconomic development and security goals of the country In each specific sector, strategy and plans should be formulated to ensure independence, autonomy and creativeness

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d) Enhancing state management operation and innovate enterprise models Enhance state management operation in IT and communication according to multidisciplinary and multisectoral trends which are suitable with the integration among telecommunication services, IT and communication Appropriately organize the state management structure based on the thorough understanding of functional units in policy making, legislation and functional bodies implementing laws; ensure the establishment of a strong state management system according to the principle “management capacity should well address the development needs”

Innovate organization, improve process, management capacity, and productivity of labor, efficiency of business and competitiveness of Postal Telecommunications and Information Technology enterprises Study to apply various new innovative enterprises to diversify ownerships Build up a strong economic cooperation, set up alliances and strong linkage among businesses

in the field of Postal, Telecommunications and Information technology

e) Expansion and development of IT and Communication markets

Take advantage of all economic sectors to quickly take control in the domestic market and gradually expand into regional markets and the world, while enhancing and enriching build brand image of "Information Technology and Communications of Vietnam." Focus on the investment on products and services of Information Technology and Communications Vietnam with a continuous increase of creative product contents The main enterprise of the Postal, Telecommunications and Information Technology need to ensure plans and roadmaps to strengthen competitiveness and move to multi-disciplinary

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and multi-sector in which Information Technology and Communications primary business is highly qualified and highly specialized

f) Human resources development

Complete educational systems to educate the professional knowledge

of Information Technology within the country at all levels of education, improving the quality of teachers, facilities, and international cooperation in training Information Technology and Communications, to ensure supply of qualified and high quality of human resources

Promote capacity building activities for civil servants and employees in the business, especially to improve the application of Information Technology and Communication in state management and in production and sales

Encourage and create favorable conditions for development of the socialized models, training models to meet market demands, models of Business- Institute - Schools, partnership models, international cooperation models etc To provide human resources in sufficient quantity, high level of quality and international standards

Promote special policies for remuneration to attract talented workers and encourage domestic and foreign experts, especially attract more Vietnamese citizens who live overseas and have interests and enthusiasm to contribute to the development of Information Technology and Communication of Vietnam g) Attracting investment and capital mobilization

It is essential to create good environments that nurture, develop and initiate the science and technology revolution, to prepare infrastructures and

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logistics as well as human resources to attract investments and implementations from corporations in ICT worldwide to Vietnam

Investments can be mobilized from domestic and foreign sources, with the priority given to bank credit, joint stock, stock markets and accumulations

as well as Organizational Development Assistance (ODA) sources for the development of IT and communication

Background of the Study

The strategy on development of human resources of Viet Nam during the period 2011 – 2020 (Prime Minister’s No 579/QĐ-TTg dated Apr 09, 2011)

is as follows:

The National strategy on “Transforming Viet Nam into an advanced ICT country” (Prime Minister’s Decision No 1755/QD-TTg dated Sep 22, 2010)

includes: (1) Planning on the development or digital information security to

2020 (Prime Minister’s Decision No 63/QD-TTG dated Jan 13, 2010); (2) Master plan on development of information technology human resources of Viet Nam to 2015,orietations toward 2020 (Prime Minister’s Decision No 698/QĐ-

TTg dated Jun 01, 2009); and (3) Planning on the development of information technology human resources of Viet Nam to 2020 (Decision No 05/2007/QĐ-

BTTTT dated Oct 26, 2007)

The strategy in the development of information and communication technology of Viet Nam to 2010 and orientations toward 2020 (Prime Minister’s Decision No 246/2005/QD-TTg dated Oct 6, 2005), includes the following:

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1) National strategy on development of posts and telecommunications of Viet Nam to 2010, Orientations towards 2020 (Prime Minister’s Decision

No 158/2001/QD-TTg dated Oct 18, 2001)

2) National Programs and Projects on ICT

2.1 IT industry, posts and telecommunications

Project on improvement of computer usage and public Internet access ability in Viet Nam (BMGF), with the Ministry of Information and Communications, implementation duration: 2011 – 2016 as implementing agency

2.2 Information technology application/E-Government

3) National program on information technology application in state agencies’ operations during the period 2011 - 2015 (Prime Minister’s

Decision No 1605/QD-TTg dated Aug 27, 2010)

4) Project on national authentication with the Ministry of Information and Communications, as implementing agency, implementation duration:

2011 – 2015; and

5) Project on investment in devices for information technology application

in state agencies with the Ministry of Information and Communications,

as implementing agency, implementation duration: 2011 - 2015

The industry’s success is determined much by the skills of its workforce This requires focusing on how human resource development activities can be used in ensuring the workforce to be equipped with skills and to successfully meet the challenges The ICT industry of Viet Nam faces challenges that are complex, and new dimensions, such as the increasing workforce diversity and

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the rate of technological change make it difficult to ensure human resource development efforts to succeed unless the decision makers make informed choices about the content and methods of delivering the development interventions

Present state of the IT program in the university

Universities and colleges had ICT faculties or departments (up 13 compared with 2010) and the quota of ICT-related student’s enrolment were

64,796 students (up 4,000 students compared with 2010) In 2011, there were 41,908 students graduating in different ICT majors; 173,107 studying in ICT faculties or departments; and 55,197 ICT students enrolled on these institutions Policy and regulatory environment for ICT development was gradually improved in order to assure the transparency and clarity to facilitate procedures and to ensure strict law enforcement

International cooperation in ICT sector has long since been recognized

as an indispensable component in scientific, economic and diplomatic partnerships between Viet Nam and other nations in the world Serving the goal

of transforming Viet Nam into an ICT-advanced country, by taking advantage

of high level delegations exchange, partnership agreements, participation in intergovernmental panel, bilateral cooperation activities in ICT sector have created favorable opportunities of trade and investment promotion, reception of technology transfer as well as human resource development for Viet Nam, contributing to the stable and sustainable sectoral growth rate of 25 - 30% per year In 2011, in order to support domestic ICT enterprises in exploring new

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emerging and potential market opportunities, aside from such traditional partners as Japan, Korea, China, USA, European and Asean regions, Viet Nam has expanded cooperation partnerships in ICT sector to countries in Africa, Southern America and Middle East regions On multilateral perspective, Viet Nam has also earned wide reputation as a responsible and active member in international organizations, while balancing national rightful interests and common interests in international society Status of Viet Nam in international ICT-specialized organizations has been remarkably heightened thanks to proactive contributions to international and regional ICT fora, successful chairmanship in technical organizations or working groups, etc Via multilateral cooperation channel, Viet Nam has effectively taken advantage of supports from international and regional partners, in terms of technical and legal consultations or capacity building programs, to serve the national development goals in ICT sector Since the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, with increasingly active participation in variety of global free trade and investment agreements, Viet Nam has become a potential economic partner with a great number of countries and regions worldwide Upon realizing the policy to liberalize domestic ICT market and attract foreign investors, Viet Nam has now become a favorite investment destination for most top-ranking multi-national ICT corporations in the world In 2011, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the domains of telecommunications and information technology in Viet Nam has accelerated with a total volume of USD 885, 90 million for 70 new projects and 10 expanded ones External economic activities in Viet Nam’s ICT

sector have been innovated in implementation methodology and achieved

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fruitful outcomes Apart from sources of funding from official development assistances (ODAs) and Non-government organizations (NGOs), thanks to flexible adoption of new cooperation models such as bilateral partnership agreement or Public-Private partnership (PPP), MIC has managed to mobilize abundance of financial support from other sources to serve the execution of sectoral missions including administration capacity building, legal framework improvement, technology innovation and universalization of ICT in society Human resource development and training activities in ICT have also switched target and strategy from domestic to international labour market with enhanced competitiveness, contributing to turning Viet Nam into a knowledge economy

Training Needs Assessment provides decision making information on the competency gaps of the training audiences, training providers and courses available, training gaps, appropriate delivery methods, training strategies, recommendations and strategic vision as a way forward for the ICT industry

Training, education and development areas are focused with a Competency Based Training approach in the skill development of the ICT industry workforce The nature of ‘a never ending cycle’ in training and the role

of human resource managers in planning, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the training outcomes for enhanced and effective work performance emphasize the need for a continuous strategic training process for the industry The horizontal and vertical career movements in search of higher exposure in gaining strong profiles and the transitory trend of ‘keep learning keep moving’

of the workforce identifies the need for faster learning techniques and

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acknowledging IT worker as an industry resource rather than an organization resource The multiple professional expertises’s required in terms of the industry specific technical nature of the ICT capabilities for effective discharge

of functions is identified for the industry The horizontal and vertical career movements in search of higher exposure in gaining strong profiles and the transitory trend of ‘keep learning keep moving’ of the workforce identifies the

need for faster learning techniques and acknowledging IT worker as an industry resource rather than an organization resource The multiple professional expertises’s required in terms of the industry specific technical nature of the ICT capabilities for effective discharge functions is identified In building a competent ICT workforce to meet the industry’s challenging opportunities, this

report presents a detailed list of key findings, recommendations and a way forward that include; Requirement of greater congruence between training organizations and the ICT industry need for training strategy to be implemented

as an evolving process and ICT to initiate an accreditation process for training courses as well as on the training entities

Non-technical skills lack in greater proportions across the industry of which effective communication skills in the English language is highlighted Industrial standardization and accreditation of the courses and course curriculums, evaluation mechanisms with the participation of the training institutes and the industry is recommended for skill standardization

Career and transitory trends of individuals identified as seeking greater exposure for building high profiles for future progression rather than titles that

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require deployment of faster, economical training methods with the increasing demand for value-added services that require higher competencies in both modern technical and non-technical areas

There is a need to incorporate industrial placements to IT related degrees and professional qualifications to give individuals prior exposure to fast-pace the work environment

Information Technology was noted at TNU, it is mandated to pursue training high quality human resource, conducting researches on scientific technologies and management, verifying and proposing solutions and sustainable development policies, and contributing to the socio-economic development of the region towards industrialization and modernization It is the vision of TNU to become a world class University within Vietnam and the Southeast Asia in providing higher education in the fields of agriculture and forestry, teacher education, technology, economics, business administration, medicine and pharmacy, information and communication technology, foreign languages, among others

Nowadays, with the fast development of science and technology, the social labor distribution deepened across the world, countries became increasingly interdependent and also the process of globalization In this context, Vietnam is developing on the path of international economic integration The process of globalization brings to businesses and universities

a lot of opportunities but also many challenges Economy, fluctuating market, fierce competition refresh them To be able to stand firm and grow in context

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businesses, all the University College in special university Information Technology should bring into play all its resources Along with capital, infrastructure, science and technology resources human resources are the most important The most valuable things in business are human and physical capital, financial capital The physical factors such as machinery and equipment, raw materials, finance will become useless if there is no manual and intellectual impact on human The success of the business cannot be separated from human factors Facing lagging competitiveness in the context

of globalization than ever, human factors need know business in the right way and use more efficient strategies However, Vietnam today focuses on building

a business and locating common elements of capital and technology, which are seen as key to development strategy, while elements of human capacity is often not very specific, especially the relationship between the University The lack

of interest or no interest due to human factors can lead to both businesses and universities to be "loai khoi vong chien" when the level of competition is increasing So, to improve the efficiency of the training process, there is a need

to put the work capability assessment of graduates and the identified needs of the industry for the purpose of training to meet the needs of society

Based on the situation above, the researcher decided to conduct a study

on Relevance of Information Technology graduates’ competencies to the

industry need

Objectives of the Study

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The study was conducted in order to identify the level of competency, satisfaction, and training needs of Information Technology graduates for the industry need

Specifically, it aimed to:

1 Determine the level of competencies of the Information Technology graduates in terms of:

1.1 Skills and Qualities

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This study tried to find out and to identify the level of competency, satisfaction, and training needs of Information Technology graduates for the industry need with the competency and satisfaction of students and the requirements of employers, hence, it will be beneficial to the following:

Administrators It is hoped that this study will provide new solutions to

develop training programs in the field of information technology in Thai Nguyen University to meet the industry needs

Teachers The results of the study are of great help to teachers, since

they will be made aware of the development of information technology training programs needed for the development of the school to meet the satisfaction of the students and the requirements of employers Researchers can contribute

to a new path in their search for better ways to improve themselves in their work environment In this way, eventually, it will lead to a better quality performance

in the teaching and management human resources

Students They will benefit in this study because they are the main

concerns of higher education and a healthy environment and relationships can create a positive impact on teaching and learning process The researcher hopes that the results and findings will bring understanding and learning-oriented, harmonious relationship between the school, students and employers

Future Researchers This study can provide a reference for

researchers of Thai Nguyen University in making decision on curriculum development oriented information technology, communication skills, and personal qualities, as the most important competencies, but suggests that the workplace context determines their relative importance

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Scope and Limitations of the Study

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the “Relevance of Information Technology Graduates’ Competencies to the Industry Need at Thai Nguyen University” Of the 344 students who have graduated from the faculty

of information technology, only 144 respondents were included in the study

Workforce development in the Viet Nam suggested that Thai Nguyen University has to play a role in addressing them by partnering with employers

to align college curricula with workplace needs This, in brief, describes partnership efforts between Thai Nguyen University and employers in exploring models by way of promoting curricular change and innovation to help narrow that gap

The study also investigated the level of importance that employers place

on work experience for Information Technology graduates A ‘competency gap’

between importance and performance was identified from these findings and the impact these findings have for training process in Thai Nguyen University was discussed

The duration of the study was from September 2012 to September 2013

Definition of Terms

For clarity and better understanding of the study, the following terminologies are defined both conceptually and operationally:

Attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects,

event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment

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Communication Skills are the skills most highly desired by employers,

according to Quintessential Careers Communication skills include the ability to listen, write and speak effectively

Curriculum is a collection of all the activities associated with each other in

order to achieve the educational goals of the school, including the inputs

to implement training programs and training objectives on the basis of outputs of the training process, to develop the ability of trained people,

to help them acquire knowledge and skills as well as improve the thinking capacity in performing job requirements at the level of the training

Graduate attributes pertains to the expected result, the knowledge, attitudes

and skills of students after graduation from the learning outcomes of a course

Higher education program represents the goal of higher education, defined

standards of knowledge, skills, scope and structure of higher education content, methods and forms of organization of educational activities, educational assessment results for subjects, the level of training of higher education that ensure continuity with other educational programs

Information Technology is the use of modern technology in the creation,

storage, processing and transmission of information

Knowledge is the familiarity with someone or something, which can include

facts, information, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education

Personal skills are important to employers, colleges; work based learning

providers and universities Many application forms now ask people to

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