Nguyen Van Tuan from New South Wales University said he doesn’t think the ministry’s plan can be implemented. 

He said Vietnamese university graduates and PhDs are trained in accordance with curricula not consistent with ones in developed countries, so their degrees are not recognized. An engineer with a bachelor’s degree in Vietnam will have to undergo retraining to be able to get a job overseas. 

A university lecturer in Vietnam said that MOLISA’s plan cannot be realized. "The degrees granted by Vietnamese schools are not recognized internationally,” he explained. 

“Vietnam can only export blue-collar workers, provided they undergo training. Exporting high-quality workers is an illusion. Vietnam’s educational quality is not highly appreciated in the world market,” he said.

Science & technology engineers will find it easier to get jobs in overseas markets, while bachelor’s degree graduates in social sciences will be rejected due to differences in cultural and social habits.

This explains why Vietnam is not an attractive destination point for international students.

Ha Huy Thanh from the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, however, said that Vietnamese bachelor’s degree graduates and PhDs can be sent abroad if they find suitable labor markets.

Thanh agrees that it is easy to export unskilled workers, while it is more difficult to export qualified workers, as import countries have high demands from the labor force. 

Therefore, it is necessary learn carefully about the demands of different markets so as to send Vietnamese workers to suitable markets.

“MOLISA needs to plan the labor export carefully to avoid risks,” he said. “I am afraid that Vietnamese talents cannot do anything overseas because they are given unsuitable jobs, or have to take simple jobs and receive modest wages."

According to Thanh, Vietnam should follow the Indian model. In the immediate time, it should target developing countries which have demand for workers who have certain qualifications. 

“The jobs may not fully satisfy Vietnamese workers, but it would be acceptable if they can satisfy 70 percent of workers’ demands for workmanship and wages,” he said.

He said that it was necessary for MOLISA and workers to learn about the culture and customs of labor import countries, commenting that poor foreign language skills and labor discipline are the weak points of Vietnamese workers.

Meanwhile, in exporting specialists and highly qualified workers, having fluent foreign language skills is one of the most important things.

A labor expert in Hanoi commented that science & technology engineers will find it easier to get jobs in overseas markets, while bachelor’s degree graduates in social sciences will be rejected due to differences in cultural and social habits.

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