The Vietnam Association of Tourism and associations of tourism in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, HCM City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh and Tay Ninh provinces sign agreements on training and development of human resources in hotel management with the Imperial International Hotel College and the Finance – Marketing University.

Nguyen Huu Tho, chairman of Vietnam Association of Tourism, said labour productivity remains low compared with other countries.

Singapore productivity is 15 times higher than Vietnam, Japan 10 times, and Thailand 5 times, Tho said.

The persistence of theory-focused education and little practical application in Vietnam requires enterprises to offer workplace-based retraining programmes for their employees, he said at a conference held on Wednesday in HCM City.

The labour turnover rate in the tourism and hospitality industry, which is struggling with a lack of qualified human resources, is relatively higher than other industries, he said.

Education and training of high-quality human resources in tourism and hospitality needs to offer 50-70 per cent of practice time and the remaining 30-50 per cent for theory, he added.

Dao Manh Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Education Association, said Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing travel destinations in the world.

However, the training of high-quality human resources in tourism and hospitality has failed to keep up with the increasing demand for employment.

The tourism sector needs about 40,000 more labourers a year, particularly skilled workers and qualified professionals, while the number of graduates is around 15,000 a year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

In HCM City, around 50 colleges and universities offer training courses on tourism and hospitality. But only 60 per cent of employment demand is met.

The robust development of upscale hotels and resorts has widened the gap between education and employment, Hung said.

There is an abundant supply of students with academic and theoretical education but a shortage of skilled personnel, he said.

New training model

The Vietnam Association of Tourism has partnered with the Imperial International Hotel College to develop a 16-week quality training model of international standards as part of an effort to bridge the gap between abundant supply of university graduates and shortage of skilled workers at four to five-star hotels.

The hotel school model where students are taught and practice at the five-star Imperial Vung Tau Hotel, with 70 per cent of practice time, has been chosen as a pilot model for training of qualified professionals in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Luu Thi Huong Hoai, deputy head of the Administration of Tourism’s Hotel Department, said the hotel school model aims to develop a better trained workforce in the hospitality and tourism industry.

At the conference, the Vietnam Association of Tourism and associations of tourism in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, HCM City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, and Tay Ninh provinces signed agreements on training and development of human resources in hotel management with international standards with the Imperial International Hotel College and the University of Finance – Marketing. VNS

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