Solutions for fundamental and comprehensive innovation of vocational education in Ho Chi Minh City

The Central Executive Committee issued Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW dated November 4, 2013 on fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education and training to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration.

The Party Committee and the Government together with the departments and branches of Ho Chi Minh City, directly the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the City, have issued many documents directing, operating and guiding on the basis of the increasingly complete legal system on Vocational Education, creating a complete legal corridor for the City's Vocational Education Institutions to develop strongly as they are today. The network of Vocational Education Institutions of the City has developed widely, diverse in types, levels, training professions and scale of operation.

Ensuring the quality of vocational education

In terms of facilities, most vocational training institutions have sufficient facilities to serve the basic training and learning needs of theoretical classrooms, practice rooms, workshops, laboratories, and lecture halls. Training equipment is invested in the direction of modernization, and is assessed by prestigious accreditation organizations in the world as qualified for training according to the transferred programs. Vocational training institutions use 100% qualified teachers to teach.

The training program is reviewed and updated periodically by vocational training institutions and basically meets the output standards for each job position. Activities on vocational training quality assessment have gradually stabilized. The quality and effectiveness of training have been gradually improved, increasingly meeting the labor needs of businesses and the labor market. The vocational skills of learners have been enhanced. About 80% of graduates have jobs, of which 70% - 75% of graduates have jobs in the right field and profession.

Regarding the connection with businesses and the labor market, there have been positive changes, with many diverse and rich forms and models of cooperation, connecting training and job creation for graduates. Many vocational training institutions in the City have established specialized departments for connecting with businesses.

The City's vocational education has achieved the above results, in addition to focusing on increasing investment in facilities, equipment, models, tools, materials, etc. for practice and internship, and implementing many other solutions such as increasing practice and internship hours to at least 70% of the total hours of each program; career counseling, streaming, and part-time job introduction are of interest to schools and students; especially the practice and internship models at enterprises are focused on by schools and gradually become the core and essential activities of schools in the training process.

In general, the quality and effectiveness of vocational education are increasingly improved, workers through vocational training have participated in most areas of the national economy and have taken on complex positions and jobs in the economy that previously had to be performed by foreign experts. Currently, about 80% of students find jobs or create their own jobs immediately after graduation, in some occupations and some vocational education institutions, this rate reaches 100%.

However, the City's vocational education still faces many limitations and difficulties such as: not having enough clean land to serve the development of educational facilities; not closely linked to the labor market; the training scale is still small compared to the potential; the structure of training levels and occupations is still unreasonable, not meeting the requirements of rapidly increasing the labor force with certificates, degrees and high vocational skills, especially for economic sectors in which the City has strengths; the quality and effectiveness of training are not high, the transfer and replication of programs according to international standards are not synchronous; the scale of high-quality training is still small, not meeting the requirements of key economic sectors and the requirements of improving the competitiveness of human resources in the context of integration and high competition; training and retraining activities for workers have not received real attention; vocational education and the education and training system in general are not really open, flexible, creating lifelong learning opportunities for people.

Vocational education development solutions

Along with the rapid development of science and technology, the economic structure has strongly shifted from industries that are intensive in the proportion of unskilled labor, outdated technology, and environmentally polluting technology... to those that are capital intensive, rapidly moving towards the stage of intensive use of modern science and technology of the City. Many new industries have appeared and will appear, requiring the City's vocational education system to change dramatically to meet the demand for human resources in the coming time, contributing to improving labor productivity and increasing national competitiveness in the City.

Vocational training institutions need to urgently review, update and develop human resource training programs for new fields and occupations to meet the needs of economic restructuring and digital transformation of the City in the fields of: Digital; Biotechnology; Automation; Information technology... Continue to innovate the goals, program content, training methods and assessment, recognition of skills and qualifications of learners and workers in an open, flexible and modern direction. Strengthen high-quality training, accelerate the completion of piloting and replication of transfer programs from advanced countries at all levels.

At the same time, promote retraining and advanced training activities to update new knowledge and skills of science and technology to create strong changes in the scale, quality and efficiency of vocational education. Implement integrated training of digital skills, soft skills, entrepreneurship skills, foreign languages... with professional skills to meet the requirements of the labor market. It is necessary to boldly invest and focus on modernizing training equipment. Proactively integrate internationally, strengthen training cooperation, exchange experts, teachers, learners and actively participate in regional and international activities on vocational education.

In particular, the City proposes that the Ministry focus on continuing to perfect the system of policies and laws so that vocational education is closely linked to the labor market, enhancing openness, connectivity, modernity, integration and adaptation; researching and supplementing training levels to form a high-level practical training system.

Along with that, direct the strengthening of career guidance in general education, carry out the work of streaming well, focus on early streaming, strengthen the integration of vocational education in general education, have policies to attract good students to vocational education. Effectively organize and implement regulations, mechanisms, and policies related to the development of vocational education, the development of human resources with vocational skills; strengthen and encourage digital transformation and online training in vocational education institutions. Develop and promote streaming solutions, attract 40-45% of graduates to vocational education, including junior high school and high school graduates.

In particular, planning more land funds for education and training in general and vocational education in particular. Creating favorable conditions for investors to borrow capital from the City's preferential stimulus capital for investment and school development. Reviewing, organizing and rearranging public vocational education institutions in the city towards streamlining and efficiency; accelerating the progress of autonomy of public schools; promoting the development of private vocational education institutions and institutions with financial autonomy; having solutions to support and resolutely move colleges and universities to the suburbs; prioritizing land funds in the inner city to develop preschool, primary, secondary, high school and intermediate education institutions because young students cannot travel far.

Strengthen the labor demand forecasting system and update and build open data on demand and competency frameworks for occupations and job positions. Promote the establishment of job exchanges, connecting labor supply and demand to improve the efficiency of training and labor use, including workers who have worked abroad and returned to the country to promote their strengths in labor and production.

Strengthen close coordination between the State - Schools - Enterprises in vocational education activities. Have policies to support and encourage enterprises to participate in vocational education from enrollment to training and training orders. Strengthen resources and increase the budget for vocational education commensurate with the role of vocational education, especially for the development of high-quality training, key and spearhead occupations of the City...

Ho Chi Minh City has been and is taking the lead in economy, education and training, making many contributions to the overall development of the country in a competitive environment and international economic integration. Ho Chi Minh City will definitely reach the finish line faster than the whole country in the cause of industrialization and modernization to prepare for entering the knowledge economy, standing shoulder to shoulder with other economies in the region and the world./.

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