Career guidance innovation, don't miss the new school year

The labor market changes every day, while career guidance in high schools still has gaps.

Teacher Dao Thi Hong Quyen guides students in a STEM lesson with bamboo at Lang Chanh Town Secondary School ( Thanh Hoa ).

On the eve of the 2025-2026 school year, when education reform enters a drastic phase, the requirement is not only technical adjustment, but also a fundamental innovation, so that schools not only teach but also pave the way, helping students have the capacity to integrate into the labor market and keep up with the country's development.

Lang Chanh is a poor mountainous area of ​​Thanh Hoa. In August, the sun poured down on the school yard. In a small room of the STEM club, Ms. Dao Thi Hong Quyen spread bamboo pieces on the table. Students gathered, divided into groups, and joined bamboo pieces to form bridges and water pipes. Each piece of bamboo, each experiment took the students from curiosity to surprise. The joy of learning spread simply but strongly.

A few days later, the same faces stood in front of the production line of Bamboo King Vina Joint Stock Company in Lang Chanh, Thanh Hoa. The bamboo of our homeland, through the hands of technology, was transformed into sophisticated products, into sustainable structures. The children watched silently, eagerly listening to experts talk about career opportunities right on the land of their birth. At that moment, the concept of “learning-vocation-job” appeared seamlessly, as close as a breath.

A small class, a simple tour, but evokes a big lesson: Career guidance cannot be just empty lectures, but must be connected to real life.

That message resonated at the right time when education entered the urgent rhythm of reform. From Decree No. 37/2025/ND-CP of the Government assigning the Ministry of Education and Training to uniformly manage the national education system, to Official Dispatch No. 4555/BGDĐT-GDPT of the Ministry of Education and Training emphasizing the requirement for comprehensive innovation in career guidance: Integration in subjects and experiential activities, closely linked with businesses, job service centers, and vocational training institutions. Then Decision No. 2269/QD-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training set the time frame for the 2025-2026 school year, helping schools proactively design and deploy career guidance modules right from the beginning of the school year. Three consecutive documents affirmed the determination to reform. It is not by chance that it is an urgent order: Career guidance cannot be delayed any longer.

Every summer, the 10th grade entrance exam becomes a heavy pressure for students and parents. In many places, the competition for 10th grade is even fiercer than university admission. Meanwhile, after nearly a decade of streamlining, only about 15-20% of junior high school graduates go to vocational school - much lower than the target. Vocational schools have difficulty recruiting students, businesses lack technical workers, but most students still flock to high school.

The biggest bottleneck lies in policy. The rigid regulation of “40% going to vocational training, 60% going to high school” was expected to help reduce the burden on the general education system. However, reality shows that this imposed approach is both unscientific and far from the needs and aspirations of students. In the parliament, many National Assembly delegates have frankly pointed out this inadequacy. The Minister of Education and Training also acknowledged: “The 40-60 quota is rigid and ineffective, and needs to be replaced by a soft orientation, creating conditions for students to choose according to their abilities and interests.”

But policy change is only one step. Looking deeper, the streaming is still ineffective for many other reasons: counseling in schools is still formal; labor market data is not updated to guide; the connection between general education - vocational training - enterprises is still loose; society still focuses on degrees, not valuing the value of vocational training. When the lessons are still limited to theory, when real-life products have not entered the lecture, "career guidance" is difficult to become a real motivation for students.

Removing the 40% "tight shirt" is just the beginning. What society is waiting for now is a real innovation strategy so that the new school year opens up fair and practical opportunities for all students.

Students cannot make career choices by listening to a few presentations or attending one seminar; they need continuous access to career information from grades 6 to 12, to learn how to self-assess, understand the labor market and plan for the future.

Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh

First of all, it is necessary to reposition career guidance in the program, this content cannot be left as a fragmented, formal one. Career guidance must become a weighty component, closely linked to subjects, experiential projects, and extracurricular activities. Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh emphasized: “Students cannot choose a career if they only listen to a few introductions or attend a seminar; they need to access career information continuously from grade 6 to grade 12, to know how to self-evaluate, understand the labor market, and plan for the future.”

Next is the team. Career guidance cannot be assigned to part-time teachers alone, but requires specialized staff, trained and nurtured according to clear competency standards. The new draft decree has oriented responsibilities and policies for this position - if strictly implemented, this will be a "leverage" from within the system.

Along with that, models that combine education with practical production need to be replicated: tea hills, sugarcane gardens, processing factories in rural areas; STEM rooms in urban areas... Whether in Lang Chanh with familiar bamboo trees or in high-tech projects, students find joy when knowledge is linked to future careers. Practical experience is the fastest way to change the mindset of choosing a career.

Finally, it is indispensable to have the support of parents and society to change the prejudice that “vocational schools are a dead end”. Career guidance innovation is not just about technical adjustments, but also about transforming educational culture: Respecting students’ choices, ensuring continuous learning opportunities and closely connecting with job needs. When these conditions are met, streaming will become a driving force for development, instead of a burdensome worry every 10th grade exam season.

THU TRANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/doi-moi-huong-nghiep-khong-lo-nhip-nam-hoc-moi-post904983.html