In a roundtable meeting held in Ha Noi today, Sam said the lack of good skills would affect workers' productivity and enterprises' manufacturing effectiveness, which would limit the country's competitive capacity.

Viet Nam thus defined that vocational training of the workforce was a priority, and a special and long-term strategy, Sam said.

The country's vocational training strategy by 2020 with a vision towards 2030 mentions several important measures, the most important being developing international relationships.

"Australia is one of Viet Nam's most important partners, especially in the vocational training sector," Sam said.

The meeting was part of the Vocational Education and Training Qualification Benchmarking and Development Project.

The project is aimed at sharing Australia's experiences in connecting vocational training with enterprises, so that the training can meet the enterprises' demand.

Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Hugh Borrowman said it was critical to speed up economic development and capacity in Viet Nam and other Southeast Asian countries.

The Australian Government gave AU$1 million (US$765,700) to the project, under which Australia, the Philippines and Viet Nam would share their experience on the issue.

Under the project, several state workers from the General Directorate of Vocational Training attended a five-day technological training course in Australia in March this year.

The project is scheduled to organise a workshop on drafting and validation of occupational standards next year. 

VNS