What should I study to get a job?

Despite unemployed graduates, companies are still desperately searching for skilled workers.

During the 2024 admissions season, university entrance scores skyrocketed, especially in "hot" majors like economics , law, and information technology. However, amidst the celebratory atmosphere of new graduates, many businesses are grappling with the problem of a shortage of skilled and professionally trained personnel.

Ms. Ngo Thi Oanh Vu from De Hues Vietnam shared the difficulties in recruitment at her company during the seminar "Issues Regarding the Quality of Human Resources": " During the recruitment process, I noticed that students are very bright and passionate about their work. However, young people today are limited in terms of language skills and lack practical experience. When recruiting, the company presents scenarios to assess basic human resources. When faced with these situations, young people are very confused and their ability to handle them is unconvincing and lacks quick thinking. Even their presentation skills are limited ."

Mr. Truong Hoang Tam, Chairman of the Printing Union No. 7 in Tan Tao Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City, also shared at the seminar: " The printing industry's labor market is in great need of workers, but the number of schools training in this field is very small. This is an industry that lacks both teachers and skilled workers."

Mr. Tam's company had to train its own staff and partner with universities to secure sufficient manpower. They even expanded opportunities for first- and second-year students to work part-time for pay, allowing them to gain practical professional experience earlier.

The seminar "Current Issues Regarding Human Resource Quality" presented practical perspectives and viewpoints on the current labor market.

The story of Mr. Tam and Ms. Oanh Vu is just one small example reflecting the widespread "too many teachers, too few skilled workers" situation in Vietnam. Despite increasingly higher university entrance exam scores, the quality of human resources still falls short of the labor market's demands.

This poses a major challenge for the education and training system, requiring fundamental changes to train workers with both the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the demands of the Industry 4.0 era.

Alarming situation of an oversupply of teachers and a shortage of skilled workers.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs , the unemployment rate for those with a university degree or higher in the second quarter of 2023 was 2.7%, higher than the national average unemployment rate of 2.25%. Meanwhile, many businesses are experiencing a shortage of highly skilled workers, especially in technology and engineering fields.

This highlights an alarming reality in our country's labor market today: a surplus of academics and a shortage of skilled workers. One of the major reasons for this is that training is not truly linked to employment; a significant portion of trained workers still lack many skills and have knowledge gaps, and therefore are not accepted by the labor market.

In reality, although the number of university graduates entering our country each year is around 500,000, the demand for skilled personnel from businesses is always in short supply. This is partly due to the rapid expansion of businesses, but largely because we are severely lacking in skilled labor.

Many businesses in Vietnam are struggling with the problem of a shortage of skilled labor (Photo: Huynh Nhu)

According to a survey conducted by the Center in the first six months of 2024 among 9,000 operating businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, 23.55% of businesses reported difficulties in recruitment, including difficulty finding workers with training programs suitable for the positions, a lack of vocational skills, soft skills, and practical application abilities, inability to meet salary demands from applicants, and difficulty finding workers with both high professional expertise and fluent foreign language skills.

More open to colleges and vocational training.

One of the underlying causes of this situation is societal prejudice regarding the value of different educational paths. University is still almost always seen as the only path, the "golden ticket" to success, while colleges, vocational schools, or training programs are often considered "secondary options" for students who don't have enough points to get into university. This prejudice has inadvertently created excessive academic pressure, causing many young people to pursue "hot" majors that don't match their abilities and passions.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Anh Chuong, Vice Principal of Viet My College in Ho Chi Minh City, pointed out the current situation: " Students are still indifferent to options outside of university, even though the demand for recruitment at different levels is very high… Each level of education has its own advantages. College, with its shorter training time and focus on practical skills, is a good choice for young people who want to quickly enter the labor market. " Mr. Chuong emphasized the diverse recruitment needs of businesses today, which require not only university degrees and grades, but also practical skills and work attitude. He also added that in recent years, Viet My College has received many recruitment offers from multinational corporations, demonstrating that recruitment needs in this era are very diverse, at many different levels.

Recently, many businesses, especially multinational corporations, have tended to recruit from colleges and vocational schools to find skilled personnel.

In fact, compared to universities, colleges and vocational training programs have shorter training periods, allowing students to quickly enter the labor market and reduce the financial burden on their families. Many businesses, especially multinational corporations, are actively recruiting personnel from colleges and vocational training programs. In particular, some high-quality colleges and vocational schools such as Bach Khoa College, Cong Thuong College, Viet My College, Pasteur College of Medicine and Pharmacy, etc., consistently have high employment rates and are sought after by businesses from a very early stage.

More groundbreakingly, the 9+ college training model is also a practical and innovative form of learning, with a flexible learning path suitable for students who have early career aspirations or want to shorten their study time. Here, students not only focus on systematic vocational training from an early age but also study the high school curriculum. Students still study basic cultural subjects such as Math, Literature, Foreign Languages, History... along with their chosen majors and professions, ensuring a balance of theory and practice, quickly adapting to the labor market that needs young, enthusiastic, and skilled personnel.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/hoc-gi-de-co-viec-lam-196240830153006962.htm