When will businesses and universities join forces in training human resources?

The policy is addressing the tip of the iceberg.

Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training announced that 66% of high school graduates registered for university admission. The reason why many candidates are not interested in studying at university is due to many reasons such as difficult economic conditions, tuition barriers... besides, there are also many students who are unemployed after graduation, working in the wrong field, low income does not ensure life. Many students even have the mindset that they would rather go to work abroad than go to university.

The above situation reflects a problem that the quality of training in universities is not up to standard, career orientation is still vague. In particular, in the current university and college education , the connection between schools and businesses is still weak, many places are still heavy on formalities, not up to expectations. This is also the reason why many students graduate unemployed, work in the wrong field, and have unstable income.

Regarding this issue, a reporter from the Journalist & Public Opinion Newspaper talked with expert Nguyen Song Hien (member of the Censorship Board of the International Journal of Training Research, London; member of the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA); member of the Australian Independent Education Federation).

When will businesses and universities join forces in human resource training? Image 1

+ Sir, currently, the model of business association with training is being promoted in Vietnam. However, in many places, it is just a formality and has not brought about the desired results. Most students still find jobs and jobs outside their field after graduation, while the recruitment needs of businesses for labor cannot find the right people? How do you evaluate this situation, and what do you think is the cause?

- The above situation is the negative side of current education. Education is in a state of serving the purpose of guiding learners to pursue higher degrees instead of serving the diverse labor needs of the actual labor market.

In addition, the bureaucratic state in management will hinder the process of approaching and integrating substantially with international education standards. This not only wastes time and money of learners but also creates a serious shortage of human resources needed to ensure the stable development of businesses in particular and the country's economy in general.

Although in recent years we have issued a number of policies to promote autonomy for higher education, it only helps to solve the above situation. In fact, according to some recent research surveys, the rate of graduates working in fields other than their majors is over 24%, but personally I think the actual number is much higher.

Need to systematically orient career early

+ Sir, how is this combination in developed countries like Australia? Is there a standard model that can be widely applied?

- In Australia, students are given career guidance from the beginning of secondary school. Victoria (VIC) is an example. In this state, future career guidance for young people is included in the first years of secondary school in the education program.

The VIC education authority has established this program and has a total of 6 steps to help young people develop their career skills. Each step is divided into 3 stages: Self-development: students will understand themselves, must accumulate experience and achievements for themselves, and find ways to develop their own abilities. Career exploration: students will have to identify, explore and evaluate opportunities during their studies and choose a future career.

Career Management: Students must make and adjust their career orientation, manage choices, changes and transitions in their lives. Each step is integrated into each grade level from Grade 7 to Grade 12. The program is designed to help learners acquire the necessary skills to create and implement career plans for the future, develop their skills and abilities to find, maintain and develop their own careers in a large but very competitive labor market.

In addition, students who finish grade 10 can switch to vocational training instead of continuing their studies. At vocational schools, students learn 70% theory at school and 30% practice at businesses. In addition, there is another form of training to flexibly provide the human resources shortage of businesses, which is training at the business. In this form, students learn a trade while still receiving a salary according to regulations. If a degree is needed, based on the time the apprentice is trained, they will be granted certificates and degrees equivalent to those who study at school. This degree is recognized throughout Australia.

In Australia, the connection between businesses and schools is very close. Students during their studies are given a period of time to intern at businesses. In addition, upon graduation, the Australian Government often has a graduate internship program to help graduates get acquainted with the real working environment, thereby cultivating practical professional skills that schools cannot provide.

The Australian Department of Education in each state always has a channel to collect feedback from graduates of training institutions to grasp information about employment status, as well as learners' assessment of the training quality of the institution where they were trained.

When will businesses and universities join forces in human resource training? Image 2 — Education needs many linkage models between businesses and schools to have good output and students have jobs.

Need for more drastic innovation

+ To fulfill the role of training and supplying good human resources for the labor market, what should universities and colleges in Vietnam do? In your opinion, what are the bottlenecks that need to be overcome?

- The current rate of unemployed graduates and those working in the wrong field, even having to be retrained, shows that there needs to be stronger reforms in the current education system. First of all, it is necessary to soon build and promulgate a career guidance framework for students as early as grade 6.

Create cohesion, unity and continuity for learners in career orientation, career choice and participation in the labor market after graduation. There is a scientific allocation of human resources in different fields to meet the actual needs of businesses and the labor market to ensure a stable and sustainable labor market. Do not let the current situation of having too many teachers and not enough workers happen.

Besides, it is necessary to attach the needs of enterprises to the training process, or in other words, let enterprises participate in the training process, only then can we avoid the current situation of retraining.

Last but not least, there is a need to innovate and update current programs and courses in both colleges and universities. Many programs and courses are outdated and no longer relevant to the current labor market.

+ Yes, thank you!

Trinh Phuc (Implemented)

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