VietNamNet Bridge - The world still doesn’t know Vietnamese trained in vocational schools are doing.

Vietnamese workers at the World Skills Competition.

At the World Skills Competition held from August 5 - 17 in Brazil, for example, Vietnam won the first medal after five times of attendance.

Besides a bronze medal, Vietnam also won eight outstanding skill certificates, including software solutions, CNC milling, and welding, which Vietnam competed in for the first time.

This information, in terms of the level of interest in the press and public opinion, was certainly less popular than information about college valedictorians, Vietnam’s delegations to International Olympic exams, or delegates on the TV show The Path to Olympia.

But for those who are concerned about the situation of "oversupply of bachelor’s and doctoral degrees and shortage of workers," as well as low labor productivity in Vietnam, this was good news.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has assessed that the labor productivity of Vietnam is among the lowest in Asia due to a large number of untrained workers and workers who lack soft skills.

Last September, the Labour Newspaper quoted ILO’s report as saying that less than 20% of the labor force of Vietnam was trained. But the skills they had often did not match the demands of the market.

The lack of qualified workers is a concern of the majority of foreign-owned companies in Vietnam.

By the end of 2014, Vietnam had 1,465 vocational training establishments, concentrated mainly in urban areas, in the form of training centers, secondary schools or vocational colleges.

A common practice today for most young people is that vocational schools are the last option when the college dream fails. This comes from many different causes.

The first element is the perception. It seems that Vietnamese people are still sunk in the concept of vocational training is to do manual jobs and jobs requiring physical strength. In fact, vocational training is like learning any specialization that requires talent, passion, the serious spirit of learning, diligence and professional conduct.

It's not considered a temporary or mandatory solution. This perception is partly shaded by prejudices from the majority that have long been haunted by the thought that the university is the only way to open up a brighter future.

It is not hard to recognize the passionate concern of public opinion or the media about the results of international examinations in mathematics, physics, while there seems to be indifference to the achievement shown in the skills competitions. Will this discrimination continue?

In terms of material assistance, vocational schools have not been properly invested in so most of them now have outdated facilities. Just look at the face of the classes and equipment, we can easily recognize a significant difference between vocational schools and colleges.

Vocational schools are not inferior

In terms of perception, it is necessary to see vocational schools and their students as an elite force rather than an inferior group. In fact, the specific, practical contribution of skilled labor to the country’s economic development is easier to measure than people with bachelor’s and doctoral degrees.

Their position and contribution must be recognized, supported, and demonstrated through concrete actions, such as the remuneration policy, training policy and funding for the establishment of vocational associations.

It would be unfair to have too many associations for academic scientists while millions of workers lack a truly effective forum for themselves.

Training skilled labor must be a priority rather than the "socialization" of training of bachelor’s, master's degree holders and PhDs. The number of nearly 178,000 unemployed bachelor’s and master’s degree holders given recently points to the need to reconsider the dream of universalizing higher education.

Vocational training is the key for the country in the period of industrialization, modernization and international integration. So investing in classrooms and teaching facilities for these schools must be adequate. Each individual has strengths in different capacities and as long as they have practical contribution to the development of the country, they must be equally respected.

It is unacceptable when many doctoral degree holders who do not contribute anything in particular to the country are favored more than laborers who work hard to make physical products and services for needs of society.

Workers needed for integration

Vietnam trains thousands of engineers but cannot manufacture screws. This was a subject of debate not only in the media but also during meetings of the National Assembly.

This fact shows the need to increase investment in development of supporting industries. But this not only requires machinery, technology, capital ... but also unskilled labor.

With reforms in the right direction, the appropriate investment and reasonable remuneration policy, Vietnam's labor can improve work efficiency to meet the needs of the age. In terms of human resources, Vietnam is not inferior to other countries in the region, as it has millions of workers of working age.

Every time the media reports about the invention of farmers or workers, many might raise a question: what are tens of thousands of engineers and doctoral degree holders doing? What are thousands of vocational training facilities doing?

Nguyen Cong Thao