Only 1/3 of Law students graduate and work in the right field

The above content was informed by Dr. Tran Kim Lieu, Director of the Center for Legal Practice, Hanoi Law University at the scientific seminar "Developing students' legal practice skills to meet job market requirements", taking place today (June 19).

According to survey data from the school's Law Practice Center, the rate of students having jobs after 12 months is always high (over 90%), however, the rate of working in the right field is still low, from 22% -37% in the last 3 years.

Specifically, of the 1,827 full-time students graduating in 2021, nearly 65% had jobs after 12 months. The rate of jobs in the right field was more than 22%, related to the field was nearly 41%, and the rest were out of field.

In 2022 and 2023, the number of people with jobs in their field will be 36-37%, and 55-56% related to their field. Notably, there are still many cases where people have difficulty finding jobs, or even have no jobs after one year of graduation.

According to Dr. Lieu, the lack of soft skills and professional skills is one of the reasons why many law students have difficulty in recruitment. Students are not yet fully equipped with basic skills such as reading books, searching for documents, exploiting information from the Internet, using technology for learning and research.

"The current job market context is changing as digital transformation with AI and GPT chat takes place strongly, along with staff reduction, requiring students' professional capacity to be raised to a new level," Dr. Lieu emphasized.

At the seminar, experts, lecturers and employers analyzed the current situation, thereby providing practical solutions to help law students shorten the gap between theory and practice, improving their competitiveness in the labor market.

Judge Vu Quang Dung, Gia Lam District People's Court, said that in order for students to be able to start working immediately after graduation, practicing the profession while still in school is a key factor.

According to him, the proportion of practical courses needs to be increased, especially in the field of adjudication. Improving students' skills through activities such as presenting cases and arguing in court plays an extremely important role. Schools should organize key mock trials to train students' legal thinking and practical skills while still in the classroom.

"Practical experiences in court are much more effective than just reading the law or learning theory in class," Judge Vu Quang Dung emphasized.

Meanwhile, Lawyer Nguyen Hoang Minh, Harvey & Morris Joint Stock Company, commented that many new graduates today lack depth in analyzing legal issues, leading to inaccurate application of the law to specific situations. When participating in large projects, teamwork skills are still weak, and coordination is not effective. In addition, students are also limited in exploiting information and grasping the real needs of customers.

As an employer, Mr. Minh expects students to develop a solid legal mindset and be able to accurately identify problems and customer needs. He especially values the spirit of learning, proactive attitude and the ability to take responsibility for work. Even when working in groups, students still need to practice independent thinking, have their own opinions and the ability to debate, and provide the most correct and effective legal advice to customers.

Lawyer Nguyen Trong Nghia, ICA Legal Training Academy, emphasized that it is necessary to change the perspective on when to start working. Each business model has its own requirements, but the common point is that it requires people to "know the job" as soon as they enter the company. Therefore, practical training must start from the first and second years, not wait until the third and fourth years.

"Even very basic, simple skills like knowing how to classify books and documents will help students save study time when they officially start working," Mr. Nghia said, advising law students to start their career journey early, prioritizing internship or collaboration positions at law firms.

Kim Nhung

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chi-1-3-sinh-vien-luat-ra-truong-lam-viec-dung-nganh-ar949710.html