In the days before Tet, many students are excited to come back home to welcome the biggest festival of the year with their friends and family. However, more and more young people are opting to stay in major cities to find jobs and earn lucrative Tet bonuses during the holidays to help them pay off a chunk of their lofty tuition fees.

A student works in a supermarket in HCM City. Photo Laodong.

In the run up to the New Year, lots of young people come to Ho Chi Minh City ’s student support centre seeking work. Recruiters have to deal with a high demand of students chasing both full-time and part-time jobs.

According to the centre, this year’s recruitment demand during the Tet holiday has increased by 30 percent. Meanwhile, the number of students who registered to find jobs also saw a year-on-year rise of 45 percent.

A majority of jobseekers are from the central provinces , which were severely damaged by natural disasters in 2013.

“This is the first time I have sought a job to earn money so as to lessen my parents’ financial burden,” said Cao Minh Nhat, student at Van Lang University.

Another factor is the desire of students to put what they learn in school into practice in a job.

Le Nguyen Truc Duy, 22, from Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Nhuan district said, “I want to gain more experience by working. I used to be a shop-assistant. This time, I’d like a job relating to product sales or promotion.”

According to Duong Trong Phuc, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City ’s Student Support Centre in recent days, his centre has introduced more than 2,000 jobs to students. There are still 2,000 other vacancies available. The centre is doing to better connect students with businesses.

Source: VNA