VietNamNet Bridge – After one year working for a Japanese company, Le Van Thai decided to continue to take a training course in technology because he was aware of the importance of vocational training.

The 26-year-old graduate from Hung Yen University of Technology and Education realised that even though he had a bachelor's degree, he still lacked professional skills.

"During the time I worked at the company, I found that I had focused too much on theory in university and hadn't gotten enough practical experiences," Thai said.

Thai is among the 177,700 out of nearly 400,000 university graduates and postgraduates who are unemployed at the beginning of 2015 according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. The ministry warned that Viet Nam was now facing an alarming rate of unemployment.

Doctor Vu Ngoc Bao, a lecturer at Viet Nam University of Commerce, said that there were two reasons for the high unemployment rate in Viet Nam.

Speaking at a seminar earlier this month organised by Vjtech academy – an educational institution that typically supplies workers to Japanese firms, Bao said one of the reasons came from the outdated education system of Viet Nam in compared to social development.

"For many years now, there hasn't been any comprehensive change in curriculum as well as facilities," he said.

Wrong focus

"Another reason is that many students choose their field of study according to their hobbies or trends at the time, instead of focusing on the needs of the labour market. As a result, after graduating, they cannot use what they study at schools to meet the requirements of enterprises", Bao said.

Imoto Yasuharu – a representative from Japanese company Ogama – pointed out the three big differences between the educational systems of Viet Nam and Japan.

He said that students in Japan were able to choose their favorite subjects that they were good at rather than being required to learn all the subjects.

Also, Japanese textbooks were always renovated and revised so as to be updated and suitable to each stage of social development, he said.

Students also had many opportunities to apply their knowledge into practice to develop their professional skills, he added.

Experts at the seminar said that real working experiences would help students achieve success even without a bachelor's degree.

Ha Noi resident Hoang Phuong Chi, 27, said she took the entrance exam of Academy of Journalism and Communication after graduating high school nine years ago with a dream of becoming a journalist. However, in the end she didn't pass the exam.

Instead of applying to another university, Chi decided to learn English and take a training course in travel and tourism at vocational centres in Ha Noi.

"After the courses, I worked as a receptionist in a local hotel. During the time working there, I had accumulated a lot of practical experiences in the service sector that can help me with my vocational knowledge, I also had many chances to practice my English," Chi said.

After three years she applied for another job that was more suitable in an international travel agency.

"This agency recruited applicants based on their experience, not their level of education, so I easily got the job even without a bachelor's degree because I could meet all the recruitment demands", Chi said.

Now she is one of their most preeminent tour managers with a high salary – around US$4,000 per month.

According to a survey conducted by the IT Promotion Agency of Japan (IPA), in the last five years, more than 60 per cent of Japanese firms lacked manpower in the field of IT.

Many of them have sought new labour resources from foreign markets, in which Viet Nam is the most popular destination – with the percentage of firms choosing Vietnamese workers up by almost one-third.

Vjtech academy has started its first procedure of enrolling high school students in 2015 for training courses of software technology, design technology and mobile technology.

Do Thanh Son, Chairman of Vjtech's Management Board, said that Vietnamese students who wanted to work for Japanese companies must have strict senses of responsibility, discipline and an inquiring mind.

Source: VNS