Positioning the role of vocational education in the national human resources strategy

Attending and directing the conference, on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Training were Minister Nguyen Kim Son; Deputy Minister Le Quan; Director of the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education Truong Anh Dung and representatives of leaders of some departments and divisions. On behalf of Phu Tho province, there was Mr. Nguyen Khac Hieu - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The conference also had the participation of representatives of the Department of Education and Training of provinces and cities; businesses and training units in the field of Vocational Education .

Industry determination, local cooperation

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister Le Quan affirmed that this is an important event in the context of the industry simultaneously implementing many strategic tasks. The conference took place at the right time when the National Assembly reviewed, discussed and passed many laws of fundamental significance for education, including the Law on Vocational Education (amended). This is a great opportunity for the vocational education and continuing education system to make a breakthrough development, institutionalize many new policies, overcome limitations and reposition its role in the national human resources strategy.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son attended and directed the conference on Vocational Education and Continuing Education in 2025.

The Deputy Minister said that the demand for human resources in the digital age, under the strong impact of digital technology and artificial intelligence, poses urgent problems regarding the scale, structure and quality of training. Vietnam is facing a historic opportunity to make a breakthrough and successfully achieve two 100-year goals. To do so, education and training in general, vocational education and continuing education in particular, need to be strongly innovated, developing high-quality human resources, closely linked to the requirements of socio-economic development and international integration.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Le Quan delivered the opening speech at the conference.

From that reality, Deputy Minister Le Quan suggested a number of key issues for delegates to focus on discussing. These are autonomy and decentralization; interconnectivity in the entire education system, from vocational high schools, technical high schools to colleges and universities; planning and arranging the network of vocational education and continuing education facilities...

On the local side, Mr. Nguyen Khac Hieu - Vice Chairman of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee emphasized that the conference is not only an opportunity to comprehensively evaluate the results of vocational education and continuing education nationwide, but also a forum for localities, training establishments, businesses and experts to share experiences and find new solutions for the coming period.

Introducing the general potential of the province after the merger, Mr. Nguyen Khac Hieu said that Phu Tho has an area of 9,361 km², a population of over 4 million people, and an economic scale ranked 6th in the country. In particular, in terms of education, Phu Tho is currently in the group of 3 localities with the largest educational scale in the country, with 4 public universities, 50 vocational education institutions, 1,957 general and continuing education institutions, and more than 1 million students.

Vice Chairman of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Khac Hieu spoke at the conference.

Besides the advantages, the leaders of Phu Tho province also frankly pointed out many difficulties and challenges. That is, the facilities and equipment of some vocational schools are still lacking, vocational training associated with job creation is not really sustainable, the connection with businesses is still limited...

In the orientation for the period 2026-2030, Phu Tho thoroughly implements Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthrough in education and training development, considering the development of high-quality human resources as one of the three strategic breakthroughs of the province. Phu Tho will accompany and effectively implement policies and guidelines for vocational education and continuing education to develop breakthroughly, truly becoming a driving force for sustainable development.

Developing high-quality human resources

At the conference, Mr. Truong Anh Dung - Director of the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education gave an overview of the whole field. Accordingly, by September 2025, the whole country had 1,163 vocational training institutions, including 518 public institutions and 645 non-public institutions. In 2024, the vocational education system enrolled about 2.43 million people, of which 430,000 were at college and intermediate levels and about 2 million were at elementary level and other vocational training programs. In the first 6 months of 2025, enrollment reached about 1 million people, including 100,000 at college and intermediate levels and 900,000 at elementary level and other programs.

Director of the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education Truong Anh Dung reported at the conference.

In terms of quality, in the 2024-2025 school year, over 80% of vocational education students will have jobs immediately after graduation, of which 70-75% will be in the right field of study. Some prestigious training institutions, closely linked with businesses, have achieved a 100% employment rate for students, with 85-90% working in the right field. Notably, in many key areas, graduates can take on complex positions that previously had to be performed by foreign experts.

Director Truong Anh Dung also emphasized the remarkable results in international cooperation and business linkages. In the 2024-2025 school year, over 85% of vocational training institutions signed cooperation agreements with more than 7,200 enterprises in many fields. In addition, Vietnam has actively participated in international activities such as the ASEAN Vocational Training Council (ATC), the UNESCO-UNEVOC network, and expanded bilateral cooperation with Korea, Japan, Germany, Australia, etc.

However, Mr. Truong Anh Dung also frankly pointed out a number of difficulties. Among them, many tasks under national target programs are still behind schedule; financial mechanisms are not synchronized, budget allocation is late; the new Bidding Law and documents guiding its implementation still cause difficulties for establishments; some key activities such as seminars or startup festivals have been interrupted for two consecutive years, affecting the entrepreneurial spirit of students.

Training unit representatives expressed their opinions at the conference.

In the coming period, the Department of Vocational Education and Continuing Education will focus on improving the quality of training, standardization, modernization and international integration; promoting digital transformation, building a unified database; continuing to closely connect with businesses; expanding international cooperation; and actively advising the Ministry of Education and Training on the revised Law on Vocational Education to promptly institutionalize Resolution No. 71 of the Politburo and Resolution 281 of the Government. These are important steps, creating a foundation to bring Vocational Education and Continuing Education to a new stage of development, meeting the requirements of high-quality human resources for the country.

Streamlining the network, improving vocational education

In his concluding remarks at the Conference, Minister Nguyen Kim Son emphasized the special nature of the event. The Minister said that the conference was held in a very special context, for the first time since March 2025, the model of state organization and management of vocational education has undergone major adjustments. If previously the task of managing vocational education was undertaken by other ministries and branches, from May 2025, this responsibility was officially transferred to the Ministry of Education and Training and local Departments of Education and Training.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son delivered concluding remarks at the conference.

According to the Minister, this is an important turning point, because many Departments of Education and Training now have to take on the additional task of managing hundreds of vocational training establishments. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone manage nearly half of the vocational training establishments nationwide. This is a difficult task, requiring courage, responsibility and close cooperation between the Ministry, Departments and training establishments.

It is noteworthy that the integration of management between vocational education and continuing education does not only come from the organizational requirements, but also has a practical basis and objective logic. There is always a close connection and mutual support between these two fields, both providing vocational training and meeting the needs of lifelong learning. Therefore, organizing a specialized conference like today is necessary for all parties to frankly acknowledge and discuss the great challenges that lie ahead.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son said that the Ministry of Education and Training annually organizes many specialized conferences, from preschool education, general education to higher education. However, this is the first time a national conference has been organized specifically for the field of vocational education and continuing education. Therefore, the organization model and implementation methods need to continue to be adjusted to be more effective.

“We have more than 500 delegates who are leaders of departments, schools, and grassroots management units attending. The conference was divided into two halls for listening, but the number of opinions exchanged was still modest. In the coming years, we must find a way to organize to have more discussions and more topics that delve into each issue,” Minister Nguyen Kim Son emphasized.

Referring directly to the immediate key task, the Minister requested a clearer policy for the college system during the restructuring period. Along with that, the Ministry is building a comprehensive project to reorganize the entire vocational school network according to the principles of streamlining focal points, strong decentralization to localities and focusing on key investments.

“The trend will certainly be to transfer more of the focal points and programs of vocational training institutions to local management. Some units are still managed by ministries and branches, but in general, decentralization and streamlining to concentrate investment resources will be the inevitable direction,” the Minister affirmed.

Among the vocational training institutions, there are currently many strong ones, but there are also many scattered ones, leading to difficulties in management, scattered investment, and low efficiency. Therefore, streamlining the network and concentrating resources to build a number of key, high-quality institutions is the way to upgrade the vocational training system, better meeting the requirements of human resource training in the new period.

“Today’s conference is just the beginning of a new organizational cycle of vocational education and continuing education. Major issues such as restructuring the network, building a vocational high school model or developing a learning society need to continue to be discussed more deeply in the upcoming conferences. I believe that with a receptive attitude, a spirit of innovation and the support of localities, vocational education and continuing education will have a breakthrough development, becoming a solid pillar in the national education system,” Minister Nguyen Kim Son sent a message to the entire conference.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/dinh-vi-vai-tro-cua-giao-duc-nghe-nghiep-trong-chen-luoc-nhan-luc-quoc-gia-post753752.html