VietNamNet Bridge – Vocational training will be offered to 600,000 rural employees this year under a national project that ends in 2020, according to the General Department of Vocational Training.

Female workers in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang are taught to weave. A $1.25 billion project to offer vocational training to 600,000 rural people is going to be implemented this year.

The project began in 2010 with a total investment of VND25.98 trillion (US$1.25 billion).

Nguyen Ngoc Phi, deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said an important goal this year would be train workers in the skills needed for general production.

Pilot vocational-training courses launched in several localities will be expanded, according to Phi.

This year, the project would focus on improving the quality as well as quantity of enrollment.

He said that many residents preferred to enroll in colleges or universities instead of vocational-training courses.

The ministry said that inspections would be conducted frequently in order to evaluate the quality of management as well as the local use of funds allocated for vocational training for rural workers.

This year, the project's results of the last three years will be carefully examined, including the lack of interest shown by many farmers.

Many rural workers said it had been difficult to find a job after completing vocational training.

"This is a huge problem in linking training for rural workers with market demand," Phi said, adding that vocational training had not been oriented toward eco-agriculture, hi-tech agriculture and other traditional sectors.

According to the General Department of Vocational Training, as of December last year, the country provided vocational training for nearly 485,000 rural workers, failing to meet the year's target to train 500,000 rural workers.

Solutions

Phi said that each locality must develop specific production plans and offer job information to farmers after they complete their vocational training. Training in skill sets needed for the market should be a priority.

He also pointed out the role of companies. Employers should cooperate with training schools and inform them of their needs, and those companies that have the capacity to train can organise courses by registering with local authorities, Phi told Viet Nam News.

Mac Van Tien, director of the National Institute for Vocational Training, said training for rural workers must be linked with market demand. This requires local authorities to build specific economic development plans, including human-resource plans for each industry.

Many localities currently have no plans at all, according to Tien. Local governments do not offer prospective employees information about jobs or about market demand, and many farmers are unaware of the vocational training programmes.

Tien also said that job-training programmes in rural areas should develop better resources and have more flexible training programmes. More publicity about courses is also needed.

Source: VNS