The final report to Hiroshima University’s COE project entitled“Research on Cooperation in the Fielded of Skill Development Education andEconomic Development”

Skill Development for Vietnam’s Industrialization*:
Promotion of Technology Transfer by Partnership between TVET
Institutions and FDI Enterprises

January 2009

Junichi Mori
United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Vietnam Country OfficeNguyen Thi Xuan Thuy
Vietnam Development Forum
Pham Truong Hoang
Vietnam Development Forum / National Economics University*This paper was developed based on Mori, Nguyen, Ohno (2008), adding new inputs through the researchsupported by Hiroshima University

1. Introduction
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has drastically increased in Vietnam since 2004. This
increase can even be seen as a second investment boom, following the first surge ininvestment during the latter half of the 1990s. The total value of approved FDI projects
increased by 56% from 2006 to 2007, reaching US$ 21 billion1 in 2007 (GSO, 2008).
However, most of these FDI enterprises were attracted to Vietnam by the abundance ofgood and low-wage production-line workers. While this investment has contributed to theinitial stage of industrialization, sustainable industrialization and economic growth will
require high-level industrial human resources such as excellent technicians andproduction-line leaders who can improve production operations. Such workers are needed,
not only for foreign subsidiaries that receive direct technology transfer through FDI, butalso for local suppliers that may receive indirect technology transfer from the spillover
effects of FDI enterprises. Local suppliers are very important for supporting industries
together with FDI suppliers. Without the development of supporting industries,
international competitiveness in the machine-manufacturing sector cannot be improved
even if final assemblers are accumulated2.
It is widely recognized that Vietnam has high potential for developing industrial humanresources, but the shortage of technicians and middle managers has become apparent.
For now, FDI assemblers are expanding their investment in Vietnam, but they may
move to other countries with lower-wage production-line workers when the wages
increase in Vietnam. For further industrialization, it is essential for Vietnam to develop
highly skilled industrial human resources who can increase productivity andmanufacturing value-adding before the country loses the advantages of a low-wagelabor force.
One of the measures for skill development would be to accelerate technology transferfrom FDI enterprises, taking advantage of Vietnam’s better position to attract FDI.
This technology transfer may happen in various ways including throughon-and-off-the-job training within FDI enterprises, increasing business relationships
between FDI enterprises and local suppliers, and interaction with schools which provide
technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
Focusing on skill development in the machine industry, through the interaction between
FDI enterprises and TVET institutions for advanced education, the main task of thispaper is to address the question: How can TVET institutions build partnerships with FDI
1

The figure is the total registered capital of licensed FDI projects. The value of implemented capital in2007 was US$ 8 billion.
2
The necessity of supporting industries is mentioned in Mori (2005), VDF (2006), and Thuy (2007).

1

enterprises in order to accelerate technology transfer in the electrical and electronics,
motorcycle, and automobile sectors? In order to answer this research question, thefollowing section will explore the demand for skilled industrial human resources.
Section 3 reviews the structure of the TVET system in Vietnam. In Section 4, the goodpractices in Malaysia and Thailand are introduced. Section 5 explores emerging cases ofinteraction between TVET institutions and FDI enterprises in Vietnam. Section 6analyzes how those TVET institutions in Vietnam have mobilized partnerships with FDI
enterprises. Section 7 provides concluding remarks.

2. Demand for skilled industrial human resources
Despite the remarkable increase in FDI in Vietnam in recent years, there is no guaranteethat this trend will continue. Advanced Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, which began industrializing muchearlier than Vietnam, have become production bases for FDI enterprises’ products ofhigher added value. Wage levels in these countries are higher than those in Vietnam but
so are their technological levels. China and India have advantages over Vietnam interms of their huge domestic markets and abundant low-wage labor forces. Latecomers
such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar may also compete with Vietnam for FDI byoffering lower-wage labor. Comparing dynamic competitiveness in East Asia, some
FDI enterprises may consider restructuring their manufacturing operations in Vietnam.
For instance, Sony decided to stop its manufacturing operation in Vietnam and has
focused on sales and marketing activities since September 2008. Sony could no longer
find competitive advantages in producing TVs, their main product, in Vietnam. This isbecause of market trends from cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays to liquid crystal
displays (LCD), the difficulty in procuring LCD and other production parts in Vietnam,
and tariff reductions for finished goods under ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)3. Sonywill import TVs from their factories in other ASEAN countries to Vietnam. Some more
FDI enterprises might make the same decision that Sony has made in the future.
What should Vietnam do in order to avoid the capital flight of FDI enterprises?
Protective policies for domestic market such as tariff barriers and local content
requirements are outdated and unrealistic approaches, considering today’s international
trade and production systems which are built upon complex network of horizontal andvertical divisions of labor. It is virtually impossible to control import tariffs forprotection of certain manufacturing sectors, because one product tends to be made up ofvarious components, some of which need to be imported. Governments can not specify
the items which can be produced locally, because the variety of goods and components
3

Under AFTA, which Vietnam fully joined in 2006, the import tariff for electronics products should be
0-5%.

2

keeps changing frequently. In fact, Vietnam was required to remove such protective
policies after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2007. To achieve
further industrialization, Vietnam needs to strengthen international competitiveness,
which derives from endogenous factors.
To increase competitiveness led by endogenous factors, it is essential to develop
high-level industrial human resources who will be able to receive and internalize
up-to-date technologies transferred from FDI enterprises. However, more and moreenterprises report the shortage of skilled labor these days. According to the Business
Environment Sentiment Survey 2008 (Vietnam Business Forum, 2008)4, both domestic
and FDI enterprises in Vietnam face a shortage of skilled labor. Less than 15% of
surveyed companies replied that there was improvement in labor availability from 2007
and more than 35% of them proposed improving education and training systems to
improve the business environment.
Several other surveys pointed out the shortage of skilled workers, but they have notreally examined which levels of workers or what kind of skills are lacking. Although it
is difficult to generalize about labor and skill demand because it varies considerably
depending on industrial sectors or individual enterprises, to some extent we can see an
overview of the labor demands of FDI enterprises through the annual
Japanese-Affiliated Manufacturers in Asia survey which is conducted by the Japan
External Trade Organization (JETRO). Figure 1 shows that the percentage of Japanesemanufacturers that reported difficulties in recruiting middle managers and engineers in
Vietnam has gradually increased in the period 2003-2006. In contrast, the ratio of
manufacturers that reported difficulties in recruiting general workers (production-line
workers) is relatively low. In reference to Figure 2, it can be said that the shortage ofengineers, technicians and middle managers is more obvious in Vietnam than in otheradvanced ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In addition, according to another JETRO survey which focused on labor forces (JETRO,
2006b), many manufacturers needed mechanical engineers (58.5%) and electricalengineers (41.5%) in Vietnam.

4

The survey covered enterprises in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. Of those enterprises that
responded (254), 77% were domestic and 23% were foreign owned.

3

Figure 1. Difficulties in Recruiting Different Types of Workers in Vietnam
Year

37.2

2003

53.8
44.7

2004

54.1
50.6

2005

59.0

14.5
55.2

2006

65.7

10.4

63.0

2007

70.4

22.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Firms that reported difficulty in recruiting workers (%)
General workers

Middle managers

Engineers or technicians

Source: Data drawn from Japanese-Affiliated Manufacturers in Asia, JETRO.
Note: Surveys in 2003 and 2004 did not include questions about recruitment of general workers.

Figure 2. Comparison between Vietnam and Other ASEAN Countries (2007)
63.0

Vietnam

The Philippines
Country

70.4

22.2
30.2

11.3

37.7

29.6

Indonesia

51.9

7.4
36.7

Thailand

27.6

42.9

25.5
25.5
23.4

Malaysia
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Firms that reported difficulty in recruiting workers (%)
General workers

Middle managers

Engineers or technicians

Source: Data drawn from Japanese-Affiliated Manufacturers in Asia, JETRO.

The following will discuss middle managers and engineers, which are in high demand.
In factories, the departments directly related to production operations include
production control, production, production engineering and quality control andassurance. Although all of these are important, we will focus on the production andproduction engineering departments, which often require workers who have completed
TVET.
A production department consists of production-line workers, production-line leaders,
4and managers. As mentioned earlier, not many enterprises have difficulty in recruiting
production-line workers. In addition, the production department tends to be the firstdepartment in a FDI enterprise’s factory to have its management taken over by local
staff. This is mainly because the main duties of production managers are to manage
large numbers of local production-line workers - production managers have relatively
less interaction with the enterprise’s headquarters than do other managers. According to
JETRO (2007), 50.9% of Japanese enterprises answered that the heads of theirproduction departments were recruited locally. This, however, does not mean thatJapanese enterprises are satisfied with the quality of production staff at all levels. Many
enterprises are still seeking: (i) multi-skilled production-line leaders who can manage
and improve the entire production process rather than remain limited to a specific one5;(ii) engineers or technicians who are skilled at high-precision processing in making
metal, plastic parts, molds and dies 6 ; and, (iii) middle managers who can lead
day-to-day improvement of factory operations by identifying and resolving problems
from a broad and long-term perspective.
In a production engineering department, workers are usually engineers or technicians who
graduated from industrial colleges or technological universities. This department needs tocommunicate very closely with the product design department in the enterprise’s
headquarters, and thus needs more time than a production department to localize its
management 7 . “Engineers” in JETRO’s surveys should be considered productionengineers who lead the improvement of factory layout, jigs, person-hours, and in-houselogistics flows in close cooperation with the production and design departments of anenterprise’s headquarters. Although many policy makers in Vietnam tend to regard“engineers” as being in high demand as product designers, local demand for productdesigners is not high because designing processes are concentrated in advanced countries.
The above analyses indicate that, for further industrialization, Vietnam needs industrial
human resources who can initiate and manage the improvement of production
operations, rather than those who can perform only standard tasks. Vietnam’s ability toadvance its industrialization by maximizing benefits from expanding FDI inflows islargely dependent on how TVET institutions are able to cope with the increasing
demand for those high-level industrial human resources.

5Prof. Fujimoto mentioned that this “multi-skill worker” is essential for an integral manufacturingsystem and that Vietnam has great potential to provide such workers. See Fujimoto (2006).
6
In particular, supporting industries require human resources that possess high-precision processing
skills. See Takabayashi (2006) and VDF (2006).
7
According to JETRO (2008), 13% of enterprises responded that heads of production engineering
department are local staff.

53. Overview of TVET system in Vietnam
Vietnam’s TVET system has changed overtime, especially after the implementation of
Doi Moi (renovation) policy in 1986. During the centrally-planned economy period, thegovernment fully managed and financed the training for skills development, consideringthat production statuses, and the number of trainees usually corresponded to the numberof workers, technicians and managers needed in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). During
the early 1970s, education and training departments were created within various
ministries to organize and manage the training and education activities of ministries at
all levels. In 1978, the Department of Workers Training was separated from the
Ministry of Labor and became the General Department of Vocational Training directly
belonging to the Cabinet Council, and this Department became responsible for TVET.
The number of vocational training schools reached a peak of 366 in 1980.
The 10 year period after Doi Moi was a depressed period for vocational training, where
the number of vocational training schools fell down from 279 in 1987 to 129 in 1998.
Demand on vocational trainees decreased because many SOEs closed down or laid off
workers. In addition, when the first wave of FDI arrived in Vietnam, most TVET
institutions could not respond to the demand from FDI enterprises for skilled workers at
international levels. After the General Department of Vocational Training merged into
the Ministry of Higher Education and Professional Secondary Education in 1987, andthen into the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in 1992, TVET seemed to fall
into oblivion, because educational bodies underestimated the importance of TVET andconcentrated on traditional and familiar domains, namely higher education and general
education. This trend continued until the General Department of Vocational Training(GDVT) was separated from MOET and shifted into the Ministry of Labor, Invalids andSocial Affairs (MOLISA) in 1998.
Since 2001, the Vietnamese government has been working to strengthen the TVET
system to respond to the increased demand for skilled workers. Vietnam’s
Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2001-2010, approved at the Communist
Party Congress in 2001, declared that the proportion of the workforce holding
professional qualifications 8 should increase to 40%. In reference to this, theSocio-Economic Development Plan for 2001-2005 set a target for this proportion at
30% by 2005, and the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010 aimed for the
proportion to reach 40% by 2010. In addition, MOLISA announced a Master Plan for
the Development of a Network of Vocational Colleges, Vocational Secondary Schools,
and Vocational Training Centers until 2010, with a further vision to 2020. It mentioned
8

Those with professional qualifications are those who hold certificates or diplomas from training
institutions or who are recognized as crafts people by trade village associations.

6that the number of students in technological schools who receive vocational training istargeted to increase by 11–12% annually. Also, the Law on Vocational Training in 2006
was promulgated. Due to the government’s efforts in promoting TVET, the ratio oftrained workers in Vietnam reached 31.55% in 2006, of which vocational trained
workers make up 21.25% (VCCI, 2008).
In Vietnam, TVET is provided by various education and training institutions. According
to Law on Vocational Training, Vietnam’s TVET system mainly consists of vocational
colleges (cao đẳng nghề), vocational secondary schools (trung cấp nghề), and vocational
training centers (trung tâm dạy nghề) under the supervision of MOLISA. Other
educational and training schools and centers such as universities, colleges, professional
secondary schools, and employments service centers can also provide TVET programs
if they register their programs.
Table 1. TVET System in Vietnam
Level

College

Vocational Training
Institutions

Vocational colleges

Vocational colleges,
Secondary Vocational secondary
schools

Primary

Vocational colleges,
Vocational secondary
schools, Vocational
training centers

Other Education and Required Training
Training Institutiions
periodUniversities, Colleges

Universities,
Colleges,
Professional
secondary schools

Qualification

1 2 years－

Professional/
vocational secondary
graduates

2 3 years－

Upper secondary
school graduates

1 2 years－

Upper secondary
school graduates－

Lower secondary
school graduates

3 4 years

Universities,
Colleges,
Professional
Youths, unskilled
3 months – 1 year
secondary schools,
workers
Employment Service
Centers

Certificate

College
diploma

Professional/
Vocational
secondaryeducation
diploma

Certificate

Supervisory
Authority

Ministry of
Education
and Training(MOET);
Ministry ofLabor,
Invalids andSocial Affairs(MOLISA);
Ministry ofIndustry and
Trade(MOIT)

Source: Draw from Law on Vocational Training (2006).

According to the Education Law amended in 2005 and the Law on Vocational Training
promulgated in 2006, TVET programs are classified into 3 levels, namely college,secondary, and primary (see Table 1). The college and secondary level programs werecalled long-term vocational training before the promulgation of the Law on Vocational
Training in 2006, while the primary level program was called short-term vocational
training (see Figure 3). After graduation from upper secondary school, a graduate has tospend 2.5 years or 3 years to get a vocational college diploma, 2 years to get a
vocational secondary diploma, and less than a year to get a primary level certificate.
TVET institutions provide training in various subjects, many of them recently focusing
on popular subjects such as electrical engineering, machine engineering, metal
7

processing, construction and sawing.
Figure 3. The education and training system in Vietnam before and after 2006
Before 2006
Education and training system
Higher EducationDoctorMasterUniversity
College

Professional Education /Vocational training

General EducationUpper secondary
Lower secondary
Primary

Professional secondary
Vocational training
 Long term Short term

Infant Education

Kindergarten
Nursery

After 2006
Academic Education (under MOET)
Higher EducationDoctorMasterUniversity *College *Vocational Training
Professional

Professional
secondary *General Education(Under MOLISA)

Education

Upper secondary
Lower secondary
PrimaryVocational college*(cao đẳng nghề)

Vocational
secondary* (trungcấp nghề)

Vocational training
center * (trung tâm
dạy nghề)Infant Education* Education and training
institutions provides TVET
programs

Kindergarten
Nursery

Source: Drawn from the Education Law (2005) and the Law on Vocational Training (2006).

Enforcement of the Law on Vocational Training and the shift of GDVT into MOLISA
have contributed to the promotion of TVET. However, the shortcoming of the current
system is the complexity between TVET and academic programs and unclear
8

demarcation of responsibility and accountability in vocational education and training
between MOET, MOLISA, and other supervisory ministries such as the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MOIT). Let us take the Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) as an
example. HaUI is under the administration of the two ministries: MOET and MOIT.
MOET is the state management body (cơ quan quản lý nhà nước) that supervises theeducational activities of HaUI, while MOIT is the governing body (bộ chủ quản) whichis in charge of making decision in terms of personnel and organization. In addition,
HaUI provides academic education at university, college and professional secondary
levels, according to the Education Law for which MOET is responsible. On the other
hand, HaUI also provides TVET programs at college, secondary and primary levels,
within the framework of the Law on Vocational Training, for which MOLISA has
primary management responsibility. This complicated supervisory structure may
cause difficulties in administration for both schools and supervisory authorities, andmay impede the development of the TVET system.
Since Vietnam’s TVET system has been changed frequently and has several supervisory
ministries, it is difficult to get comprehensive statistics on TVET. According to ourinterview with MOLISA, as of 2008, Vietnam has 90 vocational colleges, 214
vocational secondary schools, 40 vocational schools which have not realigned into
vocational colleges or secondary schools, and 684 vocational training centers. In
addition, more than 1,000 other training institutions such as universities, colleges,
professional secondary schools, and employment service centers provide vocational
training. This group includes 8 technological universities9, more than 100 colleges andprofessional secondary schools, which are under the supervision of MOET. The numberof TVET institutions and students increases continuously every year (see Table 2).
Table 2. Number of Vocational Schools / Programs and Students (2005-2008)
2005
Number of training institutes
Vocational school> 1,869

236

262

Short term

> 1,936> 2,028
90
214
40
684

404

607

>1,000> 1,000> 1,000> 1,000

1,207,000

1,340,000

1,436,000

230,000

260,000

305,500

1,538,000
60,000198,000

977,000

1,080,000

1,131,000

Other

Long term

2008

62
104
138
632

Vocational training centerCollege
Secondary2007> 1,640
College
Secondary
Other

Number of students

2006

1,280,000

Source: Data drawn from meeting with MOLISA on 10 December, 2008.
9

In Vietnam, 12 universities, including two newly established industrial universities in Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh City, provide technological courses. 8 among them provide TVET programs.

9

Multilateral and bilateral assistance has been an important factor for the development of
TVET programs in Vietnam since the late 1990s. Various international organizations
and bilateral donors have provided technical and financial assistances to develop humanresource in Vietnam. In particular, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Germany,
Switzerland, Korea and Japan have been actively providing Official Development
Assistance (ODA) projects in the field of TVET.
ADB, together with the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF),
have supported MOLISA in implementing a Vocational and Technical Education Project,which started from November 1998 and finished in March 2008. The project had 3components: (i) improving the market orientation of TVET; (ii) upgrading the key
schools by developing curricula and instructional materials and by improving
equipment and facilities; and, (iii) introducing policy reforms in the TVET systemthrough institutional capacity building (ADB, 1998). The project successfully
established 15 schools, developed skills standards for 48 occupations, piloted labor
force and education information systems, introduced an accreditation system, andpiloted a national testing and certification program within MOLISA.
The Vietnamese government has requested ADB provide technical assistance to prepare
another loan project entitled the Skills Enhancement Project. This project is financed
through the Japan Special Fund and has been implemented for 1 year, starting fromMarch 2008. This project is assessing current sector outputs and their relevance to thelabor market, identifying critical issues in upgrading the level of vocational training,developing a long term strategy to improve skilled worker training, and completing adetailed design of the loan project by 31 March 2009 (ADB, 2008).
The International Labor Organization (ILO), in partnership with MOLISA, is going tocontribute to skill development in Vietnam through the Labour Market Project. The
project was launched in June 2008 with a budget of US$ 18.3 million funded by
European Union. The project, which will run until December 2010, will focus on two
purposes: (i) to support the design and development of centers of labor market
information within MOLISA and authorities in selected provinces; and (ii) to strengthen
the quality of teachers in vocational training institutions. The project is also planning todevelop national skill standards in one selected industrial sector.
The German government, through the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), is
financing the Project on Promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training,which started in May 2006 and will end in May 2010. This project has attempted to10

provide enterprises with sufficient access to a qualified workforce. The focus is on theprovision of job market-oriented modules of vocational education and training and thefurther education of specialists. The project advises Vietnamese partners onlabor-market oriented training and training of skilled workers for sectors with potential
for growth and employment. It assists 11 selected model vocational schools, including 9
vocational schools and 2 training centers for vocational school teachers. These model
vocational schools receive support and advice on: (i) reforming curricula; (ii)developing appropriate teaching and learning materials; and, (iii) developing
appropriate basic and in-service training concepts for teaching personnel.
The Swiss government has assisted Vietnam in skill development by financing the
project on Strengthening Vocational Training Centers (SVTC). The project has twophases. The first one was executed by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) from1994 until the end of 2004. In line with SDC’s reorientation of its Mekong Region
Program, phase II from January 2005 to December 2008 was executed by Swisscontact,
partly with financial contribution from SDC. The project covered Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh
City, Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Nam Dinh, Thua Thien Hue, and Da Nang. By the end of
2004, 27 vocational training centers received support. Up to 100,000 trainees
continuously benefited from a better teaching-learning environment and 13,000 staff
and teachers of vocational training centers and local authorities benefited from specifictraining. 750 instructors in vocational training centers were trained. 39 curricula charts,
15 curriculum guides and 4 handbooks have been developed and introduced. SVTC’s
publications were referred and utilized by other vocational training projects. The second
phase aimed to strengthen 10 additional vocational training centers in the areas ofschool management, learning-teaching methodologies and equipment infrastructure.
The Korean government is actively promoting skill development in Vietnam. The Korea
International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) implemented 4 projects on TVET from1994 to 2008. KOICA has provided grants for the Qui Nhon Vocation Training Center
Project and the Hanoi Vocational Training Center Project from 1994-1998. The two
projects provided electronic, electrical, automobile maintenance, machinery,refrigeration, and computer equipment, trained 152 trainers and dispatched 10 experts.
KOICA also supported the establishment of the Korea-Vietnam Industrial Technology
Institute from 1997 to 2000. The project has constructed a technical engineering schoolwith 6 departments (e.g., electronics and electricity), provided equipment, trained 30
trainers (e.g., construction personnel, management, instructors), dispatched 8 experts,
designed curricula and compiled education materials. In addition, from 2007 to 2008,
KOICA provided further support of US$ 2.3 million for this institute to strengthen
educational capacity.

11The Japanese government has also played an important role in skill development in
Vietnam by providing ODA for many TVET projects. For example, the Hanoi Industrial
College-Japan International Cooperation Agency project, implemented from 2000 to
2005. Section 5 will provide more details on this project. Besides, the Japanese
government has constructed vocational centers and supplied equipment for vocational
schools for many provinces in Vietnam including in Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc, Thanh Hoa,
Quang Binh, and Kon Tum through the Grass-roots Human Security Fund.
Although the Vietnamese government has tried to strengthen the TVET system byreceiving foreign assistances through ODA projects, Vietnam still faces a shortage ofskilled workers such as technicians and middle managers. In 2005, 25% of Vietnamese
workers held professional qualifications (CIEM, 2006). However, fundamental
problems lie not in the number of workers with professional qualification, but the factthat graduates of TVET programs do not have the basic knowledge and enterprise skills
required. In particular, FDI enterprises do not have high regard for the quality ofexisting TVET programs. These enterprises often say that they have hardly benefited
from recruiting TVET graduates to improve factory operations. Moreover, some FDI
enterprises say that they have to retrain these graduates after recruitment because theirskills and knowledge are far below the required level. According to a MOLISA’s report,
44% of FDI enterprises have had to organize re-training courses for their employees,
and 25% of TVET graduates did not satisfy the skill and knowledge requirements in
FDI enterprises (VIR, 2007). Several of the enterprises mention that they even prefer torecruit fresh workers and train them from the beginning rather than recruit TVET
graduates who have got undesirable habits. The government often focuses on thenumber of training institutions or graduates, which is at odds with the desire ofenterprises for improvements in the quality of TVET programs.
One of the ways to measure the quality of TVET programs and graduates would be torecognize the number of students who have learned standard skills, not only those whohave received vocational training certificates. However, Vietnam does not have areliable skill standard system. The current skill standard system, which was developed
based on the Soviet system, became outdated and is not used anymore, either bydomestic or by FDI enterprises. The enforcement of the Law on Vocational Education in2006 may be a turning-point for the skill standard system in Vietnam. In 2008, MOLISA
completed two Decisions relating to the skill standard system: one defines principles
andprocess
indesigning
national
skill
standards(Decision
No.
09/2008/QD-BLDTBXH); and another stipulates the organization and management ofevaluating
andissuing
nationalskill
certificates(Decision
No.
69/2008/QD-BLDTBXH). Until now, MOLISA has approved skill standards for 48
occupations, and is aiming to develop skill standards for 150 occupations in the period
12

from 2010 to 2020. Despite all those efforts, it would still take time to draft and issue
reliable skill standard systems which both FDI and domestic enterprises can adopt intheir actual production operations.

4. Cooperation with FDI enterprises to speed up industrial skills
development
4.1. Upgrading TVET programs in partnership with FDI enterprises
The low quality of TVET programs is attributed to various factors including outdated
training facilities, the undervalued social status of TVET institutions and their graduates,
and unclear responsibility among relevant supervisory ministries such as MOET,
MOLISA and MOIT.
All these factors are important, but the shortage of good instructors seems to be one of
the most critical problems in Vietnam’s TVET institutions. It is often said that many
instructors with an engineering diploma can teach theories but cannot provide practicalskills for students. To some extent, the shortage of instructors with sufficient knowledge
and experience is understandable, because Vietnam only started to modernize its
industries in the 1980s. Usually, up-to-date technology is first transferred to employeesof FDI enterprises and local enterprises through business relationships, and then spills
over to TVET institutions. Twenty years after the Doi Moi reforms through which
Vietnam opened its economy and began to receive FDI, local managers in the country
with a certain level of practical knowledge and experiences have begun to emerge in
FDI enterprises. It would be desirable for those skilled people to move to TVET
institutions in which wages are lower than in private firms10, but this will happen only
after average incomes increase, when the whole of society becomes better off or after
retirement. More time will be needed for Vietnam to advance to that stage.
What would speed up the spillover of knowledge and technology from FDI enterprises
to TVET institutions? One proposal is to carry out TVET programs in cooperation with
FDI enterprises. The direct interaction between TVET institutions and FDI enterprises
would shorten the time for technology spillover. It would also promote direct exchange
of information about labor demand and supply. In this way, TVET institutions could
adjust their curricula up to the needs of industry and produce graduates who are ready toenter the workforce.
10

According to an interview, it is said that the average salary for an instructor is around VND 1 million
per month. Even the graduates of vocational training colleges may get around VND 2 million if they get a
job in an FDI enterprise. According to JETRO (2009), the average salary of middle-class engineers inJapanese FDI enterprises ranges from about VND 1.6 million to VND 3.4 million.

13

One challenge here would be getting FDI enterprises to cooperate. The fundamental
goal of enterprises is to pursue profits, not contribute to society. Of course, many
enterprises actively contribute to society, but the main premise for such contributions is
the long-term benefit they bring for themselves. Therefore, to involve FDI enterprises in
TVET programs, it is essential to recognize situations in which FDI enterprises have
incentives to cooperate with TVET institutions and quickly seize those opportunities.
Three major conditions can increase the likelihood of FDI enterprises cooperating with
TVET institutions. The first condition is that their basic factory operations need to
become stable. Otherwise they cannot afford to deal with other affairs. Second, theyneed to increase local procurements to reduce production costs or need to find local
subcontractors to expand their production capacity. In this case, strengthening TVET
programs will improve the capability of local enterprises and then benefit FDI
enterprises in return. The third condition is the necessary expansion of supply of skilledworkers to address the serious shortage of skilled workers, which pushes up the wage
level. The undesirable scenario is that demand for skilled workers increases, enterprises
start to compete with one another for skilled workers by offering higher salaries, and thewage increase exceeds the productivity increase. To build cooperation with FDI
enterprises, it is crucial for TVETs to recognize situations in which any of the above
conditions exist, and from there begin to approach enterprises. The two cases where
TVET institutions have successfully built partnerships with FDI enterprises in advanced
ASEAN countries are introduced below.
4.2. Partnerships between FDI enterprises and government in Malaysia: Penang
Skill Development Center11
The Penang Skill Development Center (PSDC) is a successful example ofpublic–private cooperation in human resource development in Malaysia, achieved by
the timely intervention of the national and state government. Responding to a requestfrom FDI enterprises, the government established PSDC in 1989. Penang State has
attracted FDI, in particular in the electrical and electronic sectors, since the 1970s. In
the late 1980s when massive FDI flowed into Penang, many multi-national corporations(MNCs) faced shortages of labor, especially for skilled workers like technicians who
could maintain and improve production lines. Then, FDI enterprises started to complete
for skilled workers by offering higher salaries, which resulted in increased labor costs.
In order to solve this problem, FDI enterprises, represented by American-affiliated firms
proposed the establishment of a human resource development center. Both state and11

For further details on the PSDC, see Mori (2005).

14

central government supported this proposal and PSDC was established.
A notable feature of the PSDC is its management system. The general direction of
PSDC programs is decided by its management council, which consists mainly ofmember companies’ top management (Table 3). The chairman of the council is electedfrom the member companies bi-annually. As for the management of PSDC, government
agencies only play supportive roles like supervision. Moreover, the details of training
programs at PSDC are structured and periodically reviewed by the training committee,
which consists of experienced staff in member companies’ training departments. Thissystem enables PSDC to provide up-to-date engineering and management skills fortrainees, in synchronization with market demand.
Table 3. PSDC Management Council 2005-2006
Position
Chairman
Deputy Chairman
Vice Chairman
Committee members(2005-2006)

Committee members(2004-2005)

Title
Managing Director
Managing Director
Site GM
Managing Director
President
CEOManaging Director
Managing Director
Managing Director
Management
FC

Company Name
Advanced Micro Devices Export (M)Fairchild Semiconductor (M)Intel Malaysia
Bosch Malaysia
Agilent Technologies
ENG Teknologi
Motorola Malaysia
Seagate
Komag
Leong Bee & Soo Bee Sdn. Bhd
OSRAM

Source: PSDC’s presentation to the author on June 13th 2005.

These high-quality training opportunities for PSDC member companies, which accountfor more than 50% of employees in Penang’s manufacturing sector, may have positive
impacts on value-added activities and skill intensity in Penang. The annual
manufacturing value-added in Penang grew steadily at an average of 8.7% between
1992 and 2000 (Imm, 2000). Analyzing firm-level data of domestic suppliers, Rasiah(2002) finds that Penang’s machine tool suppliers generated more value-added than
suppliers in the Klan Valley, another center of electronics industry in Malaysia, due tothe effect of a better government-business relationship. Moreover, the skills intensity ofPenang’s manufacturing labor force has risen from 0.13 in 1980 to 0.23 in 1998, while
the ratio of production workers in the total manufacturing workforce decreased from
74.3% in 1990 to 67.1% in 199812. Rasiah (2002) found, in his survey, that machine tool
suppliers in Penang owned better precision tolerance levels in grinding, milling, andstamping. This may be a result of increases in skill intensity in Penang.
12

Skills intensity is calculated based on the ratio of management and technical staff in relation to thenumber of staff. Refer to Imm (2000).

15

Furthermore, PSDC has provided opportunities for domestic suppliers to learn about
MNCs’ quality requirements directly from their employees, particularly in the Global
Suppliers Program (GSP), which started in 1998 in order to develop backward linkages
through upgrading the technology of domestic suppliers. The program benefits not only
domestic suppliers which hope to increase business with MNCs, but also those whichhave not yet obtained a business contract with MNCs. By October 2004, 385 domestic
suppliers, much more than the number of member companies, were participating in thefirst initiative of GSP. 8 MNCs and 9 domestic suppliers are participating in the second
initiative (see Table 4-1 and 4-2).
Table 4-1. SME's Participation in GSP (2005)

Table 4-2. Participation in GSP Second Initiative

ProgramNo. of Participants

No. of SMEs

CoreCom 1

910

239

Advanced Micro Devices Watas Holdings

IS2

106

29

Agilent Technology

AS3

502

117

Fairchild Semiconductor Industri Presawat Jaya

Total

1,518

385

Intel Technology

Source: PSDC's presentation on June 13th 2005

MNCs

SMEs

Prestige Dynamics Industry

Newtechco Engineering

Komag

Unimould Engineering

Motorola

AKN Technology

Robert Bosch

Leong Bee & Soo Bee

Unico Technology

ClassA Technology
Mechwira Technology

Source: PSDC's website: http://www.psdc.com.my/

4.3. Grass-roots initiative by Thai scholars and experts trained in Japan: theThai-Nichi Institute of Technology13
The Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) was established as a private university in2006 through the long term efforts of Thai scholars and experts, with assistance fromthe Thailand-Japan Technology Promotion Association (TPA).
TPA was established in 1973 by a group of people who had studied and trained in Japan.
One main target of TPA is to develop scientific technologies for economic developmentin Thailand by promoting technology transfer from Japan. In the 1970s, ananti-Japanese sentiment was emerging in Thailand. Although Japanese FDI increased
rapidly, people in Thailand did not feel that they were benefiting from expanding
business by Japanese companies. In this situation, the Japan-Thailand Economic
Cooperation Society (JTECS) was established in 1972, with the aim to promote FDI and
13

This section is mainly based on the author’s interview with TNI and TPA in November 2008, and thematerials provided by TNI and TPA.

16

industrialization to benefit Thai people and Thailand’s economy. At the same time, TPA
was established as the counterpart of JTECs in Thailand in 1973, based on the alumni
society of the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS). In partnershipwith JTEC and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), TPA has
provided many training courses in the field of scientific technology, production
management, business management and languages. In 2008, TPA provided training foraround 60,000 people from both domestic and FDI enterprises. TPA has operated byutilizing ODA from the Japanese government, which accounted for 50% of the total
budget in the early stages. TPA has gradually increased its self-financing given that
financial assistance from the Japanese government will end in 2009.
The establishment of technical university has been a main agenda of TPA since its
establishment, because many AOTS alumni found the need for practical training in
Thailand. They also aimed to establish a private university, in view of its potential
flexibility in management and curriculum development. TNI was finally established in
2006, although it took more than 30 years to realize, overcoming a lot of challenges andbarriers. TPA funded all the initial capital with donations from Japanese enterprises andthe Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok.
TNI offers 2 bachelor degree courses (automotive engineering and productionengineering) in the faulty of engineering, 2 courses (information technology andcomputer engineering) in the faculty of information and communication technology, and3 courses (industrial management, human resource management, and businessassociation in Japanese) in the faculty of business management. TNI also offers a
Master in Business Administration (industrial management). TNI accepts around 800
students annually, for all courses in total, but the number of students is expected toreach 3,000 by 2012.
TNI has very strong ties with both Thai and Japanese enterprises, based on TPA’s
network of more than 3,000 individual and 2,000 corporate members. Enterprises, manyof which are members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, donated training
equipment and provided the funds for scholarship. Many members of the executive
boards used to work for enterprises as high-ranking officers. In turn, the training
curricula are formulated in cooperation with enterprises. TNI also promotes a 4-monthinternship in enterprises, most of which are Japanese companies. Furthermore, TNI
organizes practical training courses by inviting training experts from enterprises asvisiting lecturers.

17

5. Emerging cases of cooperation between TVET institutions and FDI
enterprises in Vietnam
Vietnam does not have as strong a partnership between its TVET institutions andenterprises as PSDC and TNI have, but it may have such an opportunity shortly. Many
FDI enterprises in Vietnam have stabilized their basic factory operations within 5-10
years of establishment, and have started looking for skilled workers in order to improvetheir competitiveness further. The supply of skilled workers has not caught up with theincreasing demands of enterprises, resulting in increases in wages and job hopping
ratios14. Although this is an unfavorable phenomenon for enterprises, it also creates achance for TVET institutions to build partnerships with FDI enterprises. The following
sections will introduce 5 leading cases in the development of industrial human resourcesin Vietnam15. Examination of these cases may yield useful suggestions for promoting
partnerships with FDI enterprises.
5.1. In-house training by a FDI enterprise: Muto Vietnam’s training ofmold-and-die technicians
When enterprises face a shortage of skilled workers, the first solution they consider is
promotion of in-house training. Some FDI enterprises have developed in-house training
programs. Muto Vietnam Co., Ltd., which has factories for molds, dies, andplastic-injection-molding parts in Bien Hoa Industrial Park and Long Binh Industrial
Park in Dong Nai province, is one such enterprise. Many of their engineers are either
colleges or professional secondary graduates. Since 1998, Muto Vietnam has provided
occasional in-house training courses on designing and making molds and dies for theirtechnicians. The past 6 courses have produced a total of 170 trained technicians. This
program has improved skill levels and the retention rate of employees. Some engineers
have been also sent to Japan for on-the-job training. As a result of this training, Muto
Vietnam now produces all molds and dies in Vietnam, and sometime produces thoseused in their factories in Japan. Also, Muto Vietnam provided training for engineers for
Muto Technology Hanoi which was established in 2005 as a production base in the
Vietnam’s northern regions. The engineers who were trained in Muto Vietnam
contributed to early development and stabilization of Muto Technology’s operation.
Human resource development in Muto Vietnam may move to the next phase, given the14

According to JETRO (2007), 68.7% of enterprises responded that increasing wages are a problem in
employment. Moreover, it is reported that enterprises have started to compete for skilled workers byoffering higher salaries in provinces surrounding Ho Chi Minh City (JETRO, 2006b, p. 71).
15
The description of cases here is based mainly on interviews conducted by the authors from 2005 to
2008.

18

rapidly changing business environment in Vietnam characterized by increased job
hopping and serious shortages of skilled workers. Muto Vietnam is now consideringtransforming their in-house training course to one which is open to engineers in other
FDI mold-and-die producers in Bien Hoa. The primary purpose of this plan is tocontribute to the standardization of mold and die manufacturing skills, introducing
Japanese national standards as good practice. Currently, there are no national skill
standards for mold and die manufacturing in Vietnam. This may impede the skill
development of mold and die manufacturing, and may also make it difficult forenterprises to evaluate the skill level of workers in recruitment and promotion. Thus,
Muto Vietnam’s new training course can not only increase the number of skilled
engineers, but also contribute to increasing the retention rate by providing appropriate
benefits for skilled workers.
It would be ideal for all enterprises to have systematic in-house training programs.
However, limited financial resources mean that this is not possible. Moreover,enterprises that currently provide such programs may not be able to run their training
programs on a large enough scale to keep up with their expanding production. Given
that in-house training cannot produce a sufficient number of trained workers, good
TVET institutions to which enterprises can outsource training are needed.
5.2. Linkages with an industrial park: Vietnam–Singapore Technical Training
Center / Vietnam-Singapore Vocational College
The Vietnam–Singapore Technical Training Center (VSTTC) was established in 1997
with technical assistance of about VND 60 billion from the government of Singapore.
This ODA project was implemented based on top-level agreement between the Prime
Ministers of Singapore and Vietnam in 1996. VSTTC is located in front of theVietnam–Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Binh Duong province, next to Ho Chi
Minh City. The Binh Duong People’s Committee directly supervises the operation of
VSTTC.
VSTTC attempted to supply skilled workers to enterprises in VSIP. For this, the center
provided 6-month (1,100 hours) training courses in 5 fields: (i) electrical maintenance;(ii) mechanical maintenance; (iii) machining; (iv) electronics; and (v) mechatronics16. In
2005, 230 students were enrolled in these courses, of which 95% were secondary school
graduates and 5% were dispatched by their employers. Students gained training
certificates after they fulfilled course requirements. VSTTC had 33 instructors, withengineering degrees and who were trained in Singapore for 9 months, as well as 8 staff
16

The mechatronics course was added in 2005, in line with the high demand from enterprises in VSIP.

19

for administration. VSTTC held regular meetings with enterprises in VSIP and tried toadjust curricula and course designs to meet their labor and skill demands 17 . For
instances, responding to an increasing demand for mechatronic technicians, VSTTC
increased the enrollment capacity of its mechatronics course. As a result, all graduatesfound jobs—mostly in enterprises within VSIP— immediately after completing thecourses.
After assistance from the government of Singapore ended in 2005, VSTTC merged with
Binh Duong Technical School, which was established by the Binh Duong People’s
Committee in 2004, and became the Vietnam–Singapore Technical School in August
2006. The school was upgraded to the Vietnam–Singapore Vocational College inJanuary 2008. Vietnam–Singapore Vocational College (hereafter called the College) has
3 courses as follows:i. Vocational college course
This newly-established course requires 3-years of study to obtain a college
diploma. Around 200 students are accepted in this course every year18.
ii. Vocational secondary course
This newly-established course requires 2-years of study for upper secondary
school graduates and 3 years for lower secondary school graduates to gain avocational secondary diploma. Around 1,200 students are accepted in this course
every year.
iii. Vocational primary course
This course, which directly succeeded the course offered in VSTTC, requires
6-months training to gain a vocational primary certificate. Around 150 students
are accepted into this course every year.
The total number of instructors increased from 39 in 2005 at the time of VSTTC to 60
in 2008 (see Table 5). Many VSTTC instructors remain at the College.

17

VSTTC’s Board of Governors consisted of representatives from the governments of Singapore andVietnam, VSIP Joint Venture Pte. Ltd. and enterprises in VSIP.
18
This course started in the academic year of 2008.

20

Table 5. Number of Students and Instructors in VSTTC andVietnam–Singapore Vocational College (1997-2008)
Number of students
Year
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
20064
2007
20085

Primarylevel2(6 months)
n.a.
n.a.
50
8
167
19
176
19
281
19
337
23
339
29
410
37
419
39
42
420
33
55
60
39

Number of
instructors1

Secondary level3
2 years

3 years

159
412
728
1,454
1,055

Collegelevel(3 years)

n.a.
n.a.
624
337
872

167

Note
1. The number of instructors does not include visiting instructors.
2. From 1997 to 2006, Primary level trained by VSTTC.
3. From 2004 to 2006, Binh Duong Technical School provided secondary leveltraining.
4. From 2006 to 2007, VSTTC and Binh Duong Technical School were merged into
Vietnam – Sigapore Secondary Technical School, providing training at primary andsecondary levels.
5. From 2008, the school was upgraded into Vietnam-Singapore Vocational
College, providing training at three levels: primary, secondary and college.

Source: Data provided by the Vietnam-Singapore Vocational College.

The college and secondary courses increased the number of training fields from 5 at thetime of VSTTC, to 9. The electrical maintenance and the electronics courses were both
divided into industrial and household courses, based on MOLISA’s guideline which
newly included information on communication technology and automobile technology.
The College has been working to maintain good relationships with enterprises in VSIP.
It has organized a job fair every year, sending the list of students to enterprises in VSIP.
The graduates of the College are mostly recruited by FDI enterprises in VSIP, just as
those from VSTTC were. In addition, the College is cooperating with VSIP Joint
Venture (JV) Pte., Ltd., the management company of VSIP. A representative of VSIP JV
is a member of the College board. With the assistance from VSIP JV, the College also
conducted surveys in 2006 for enterprises which recruited VSTTC graduates and to help
graduates to find work19. The demands of enterprises are reflected in the curriculum, butthese do not exceed 20% of total curriculum hours, according to MOLISA’s guideline20.
19

In the first trial, the College sent the questionnaires to 100 enterprises, but received only 3 replies. In
reaction to this, in the second round, the College asked for cooperation from the VSIP JV Pte. Ltd. andreceived replies from around 60% of questionnaire recipients.
20
To establish a new course or add training fields, the College needs to gain approval from MOLISA.

21

It seems that the Binh Duong People’s Committee has actively supported both VSTTC
and the Vietnam-Singapore College. The People’s Committee established the Binh
Dung Technical School, inspired by the success of VSTTC. It was the People’s
Committee who proposed merging the two schools later. Furthermore, the People’s
Committee implemented the policy to subsidize 80% of the vocational training fees inall provincial vocational training schools21, expecting that the development of humanresources will increase provincial competitiveness. The Department of Labor, Invalids
and Social Affairs (DOLISA) of Binh Duong province also publishes the demand
forecast for human resources every year.
Despite the Vietnam–Singapore Vocational College’s persistent efforts to improve theirtraining programs, they still face some challenges. It is still not easy to collectinformation about skill demand from enterprises in a systematic way. Also, even if theCollege finds demand for new technology, they may not find teachers and instructors
who can provide appropriate training. Finally, the rapid increase of students may cause ashortage of training equipment and instructors. A critical challenge for the College is tobetter mobilize sufficient resources to purchase additional equipment and recruit
competent instructors.
5.3. Interaction between higher educational institutions and enterprises: theHanoi Industrial College (HIC) – JICA Project / Vietnam–Japan CenterWith technical assistance from JICA, the Project for Strengthening Training Capabilities
of Technical Workers at Hanoi Industrial College (hereafter called the HIC–JICA
project) aimed to upgrade technological knowledge and skills of prospective engineers.
As FDI from MNCs increased, the shortage of skilled labor gradually became an
important issue in Vietnam. In particular, many MNCs looked for production engineers
who could innovate and maintain production processes in their factories. Although someuniversities provide engineering education for students, there is a reputation thatstudents who graduated from those universities usually do not have practical skills in
production engineering. In addition, it is often said that engineers who graduated fromthose universities would prefer not to work on manufacturing sites: they prefer“cleaner” work such as product design, to “dirty” work in a factory.
In order to bridge the above gap between demand and supply of production engineers,

21

For example, students in the secondary course of Vietnam-Singapore College pay only VND 80,000
per month, which is equivalent to 20% of the actual training cost. College course students at the Vietnam
Singapore College pay VND 120,000 per month in the same way.

22

the HIC-JICA project was implemented from 2000 to 200522. JICA did not select auniversity but an industrial college as a partner, in order to increase the number of
production engineers who can work on manufacturing sites. By 2004, JICA provided a
JPY 367 million (about US$ 3.11 million) equipment grant for 40 machines, JPY 98
million (about US$ 0.83 million) for administration expenses and 39 Japanese experts intotal. The Vietnamese government provided 21 machines, land, building services and
VND 3.74 billion (about US$ 0.02 million) for administration expenses (JICA 2004).
The HIC–JICA project consisted of two main programs: (i) engineering professional
secondary education courses for HIC students; and (ii) short-term technical training
programs for people who are currently employees of a company.
i. Engineering professional secondary education courses
The project provided HIC students with a 2-year engineering education in 3
courses: (a) machining processing; (b) metal processing; and, (c) electric control.
Every year, the HIC received about 240 to 360 students (JICA 2004). Students
who held an upper secondary diploma and hoped to participate in the projectneeded to apply and take the entrance exam, which differed from those neededfor other HIC courses. In addition, the tuition fee was US$ 200 per year, which
was US$ 80 higher than other HIC programs. In particular, this programemphasized practical training. 60 to 70% of the total course hours were allocatedfor practical training, while 30 to 40% was allocated for academic lectures (seeTable 6).
Table 6. Time Allocation of HIC–JICA Project (2002-2003)
MachineProcessing (hour)%

Metal Processing(hour)%

Electric Control(hour)%

Lecture

985

38%

806

31%

780

33%

Practical Training

1,640

62%

1,819

69%

1,560

67%

Total

2,625

2,625

2,340

Source: JICA (2004).

The HIC–JICA project has provided intensive engineering education in a small
capacity. The basic annual capacity of the project is 240 students, including 80
students in each of 3 courses. The actual enrollment in 2002 was 237 students
and 253 in 2003, representing only 5% of the total number of students at HIC23.
22

Although the project was implemented in 2000, the short-term courses started from 2001 and thelong-term (2 year) courses started from 2002.
23
HIC had 17,739 students in total in 2003: i) 8.782 full-time students; ii) 7,367 short-term courses
employees; iii) 1,100 IT and Accounting course students (in collaborated with an Australian University);
and, iv) 490 students under the HIC-JICA program. Refer to: JICA (2004).

23

These small numbers made enrollments very competitive. The applicants to theproject exceeded the enrollment limit in 2002 (757 applicants) and 2003 (1,354
applicants). However, the capacity of the project needed to be small in order tomaintain good quality and enable intensive education. For example, on average
1 instructor supervises only 11-13 students. This was probably why the drop-out
rate of students, at 3%, is very low. In order to administer 3 courses, a total of 20
instructors worked in this program24. Out of 20 instructors, 6 were specialized inmachining processes, 7 in metal processing, and 7 in electric control. They weresupervised by and cooperated with Japanese experts. In addition, by 2005, 25
instructors were sent to Japan for intensive training. The 6% turnover rate of
instructors was due to 2 instructors leaving by 2004.
The project has also offered unique practical training, which combines academic
laboratory work with actual manufacturing activities, based on manufacturing
orders from MNC assemblers and domestic suppliers. Under the supervision ofexperts and instructors, students have produced jigs such as motor control
machines and cutting machines, as well as spare parts such as motorbike
cylinders. This activity enables students to learn practical skills in design andproduction, which are applicable to their jobs, once they are hired by firms. In
particular, manufacturing activities based on orders from MNCs give students
opportunities to learn the up-to-date technologies directly, because thosetechnologies are usually innovated by MNCs in Vietnam. In addition, bothstudents and instructors may understand MNCs’ quality requirements throughthis activity. This promotes awareness of the international standards for highquality and on-time delivery. The project produced parts and equipment for morethan 60 companies.
ii. Short-term technical training programs for people who are currently employees
of a company
The second program provided 1-2 days of short-term training courses inmachine processing, metal processing, and electric control for company
employees and instructors of other vocational training schools. Basically, anyone
can attend short-term training courses without an entrance examination. By 2004,
around 1,300 people participated in a total of 74 short term courses. 840 of themwere company employees, while 460 were instructors of other vocational
training and educational institutes25. In addition, the project held open seminars
in machine processing, metal processing, vocational training systems and worksafety and sanitation. 545 people attended those seminars. Furthermore, the2425

In addition to 20 full time instructors, there were 9 part-time instructors.
For example, the Vietnam-Germany Training Center participated in the training course.

24

project twice organized technical competitions, in which 155 people
participated.
Through the above programs, the project increased the supply of competent productionengineers to the market, although the number of students continued to be small. The
project had the first graduates in September 2004. It was predicted that most students
would get a job immediately after graduation, because the projects had received twotimes more job offers from both MNCs and domestic supporting industries than thenumber of graduates26. In particular, students in the mechanical processing course weremost popular with a job offered rate of 2.5, while the ratio for students in either metal
processing or electric control is 1.7827. More than half of the job offers were from the
project’s customers, which ordered spare parts and jigs.
The HIC–JICA project was completed in March 2005, and the training program has
continued as the Vietnam-Japan Technology Center (VJC) since April 2005 28 . In
addition, Hanoi Industrial College was upgraded to the Hanoi University of Industry(HaUI) in December 2005 with around 42,000 students in all faculties. VJC basically
succeeded the same course structure as the HIC-JICA course, providing practicaltechnical education and training in the same 3 fields. After completing the 2 years of
training, students receive vocational secondary diplomas as well as a VJC original
training certificate acknowledged by MOIT. The students who apply to this courseshould already have upper secondary education diplomas. Since its establishment, thenumber of students in VJC has been increasing: 358 students enrolled in 2006; 454 in
2007; and, 545 in 2008. Around 180 students are now studying in each of the 3 fields,
which is about three times the total number of students in 2004. In addition, VJC is
promoting internships in enterprises and receiving manufacturing orders for jigs fromenterprises, as the HIC-JICA course did. Thanks to the efforts of former project experts
and the performance of graduates, VJC has very good relationships with certain
companies. For example, one Japanese mold-and-die manufacturer has recruited 30
students from VJC every year.
VJC needed to increase the number of students to strengthen its financial sustainability,
but this also imposed new challenges in the post-project period. For one thing, one
instructor needs to take care of more students. The number of full time instructors
increased from 20 in 2004 to 29 in 2008, even though the number of students is
expanding much faster. VJC tries to maintain the quality (the appropriate ratio between
26

Based on authors’ interview with the HIC-JICA project in August 2004.
Job offered ratio = number of job offers / total number of students.
28
The authors are now conducting a survey to evaluate the performance of graduates from the HIC-JICA
course and VJC in cooperation with JICA and HaUI.
27

25

instructors and students) and quantity (class hours) of practical training by utilizing
more visiting instructors and separating course work into three shifts (morning,
afternoon and evening classes). Another challenge for VJC is the limited capacity of
training facilities. As the number of students increases, VJC needs more equipment but
it is not easy to find the financial resources. Furthermore, VJC needs internal or external
engineers who can maintain the latest equipment. Unfortunately, not many people canprovide proper maintenance for the latest machines in Vietnam29.
5.4. Training future instructors: the Vietnam–Germany Training Center
The Vietnam–Germany Center was established at the University of Technical Education
at Ho Chi Minh City (the University) in 1993, with financial assistance of US$ 8
million (DM 12.4 million) from the government of Germany over 8 years until 200030.
The University is under MOET’s supervision and had 25,000 students and 600
instructors in total in 2008. The Vietnam–Germany Training Center is one of 11 centers
and institutes under the University. The main objective of this project was to improve
quality of vocational training programs in Ho Chi Minh City and its vicinity by
upgrading the training facility, improve the quality of instructors and develop standard
curriculums. Accordingly, half of the grant was allocated for purchasing machines andequipment for training, while the rest was for inviting German experts to Vietnam andsending Vietnamese instructors to Germany. The first group of instructors (4 in theelectrical engineering course and another 4 in the mechanical maintenance course) was
sent to Germany for 14-months of training. They were expected to upgrade the training
curriculums of the center after coming back to Vietnam. Another group of instructors
was trained by German technical experts, first in the center, for 3-4 years. Then, they
were sent to Germany for advanced training. In addition, the center built standardized
curriculums according to the technical training model of Germany. In 2008, 18
instructors were working in the center, most of who had been trained in Germany. Even
after the project was completed, the center has opportunities to send their trainers toGermany every year by forming friendships with vocational training schools inGermany. The turnover of instructors in this center seems low, probably because thewell-organized training system provides them with incentives to remain.
The Vietnam–German Training Center (hereafter called the Center) provides 3 types ofpractical training programs.
i. Training program for regular students under three faculties of the University
This program, which accounts for around 50% of the training capacity of the
29

JICA is planning to provide an equipment maintenance expert for VJC in 2009.
The project had the two phases. Phase I was implemented from 1993-1998 and phase II from1998-2000.
30

26

Center, provides training for students in the 3 faculties: civil engineering andapplied mechanics; electrical and electronic engineering; and, mechanicalengineering. The training program is a part of the curricula of other faculties,
which do not own sufficient facilities for practical training. The students will
receive a university diploma when they fulfill all of the requirements, including
training in the center, in 4 or 4.5 years. Of their entire course works, around 20%
is allocated for practical training.
ii. Training for engineers and technicians from enterprises and other schools
This program, using about 30% of the training capacity of the Center, provides
training for engineers and technicians who are currently working in enterprises
and instructors in other TVET institutions. The program focuses on higher level
practical training including the programming of computer numeric control(CNC) software. By completing the training which is around 1 week, theparticipants receive the training certificate issued by the Center. The majority ofparticipants are working in FDI enterprises. The Center also provides
customized training programs upon request from enterprises.
iii. Professional secondary training course
This course, which accounts for around 20% of training capacity of the Center,
provides secondary-level professional training based on MOET’s guidelines in
the field of industrial electronics and mechanical maintenance. Around 400
full-time students in the 2 grades enroll in this course (see Table 7). They will
receive the professional secondary diploma, after completing the 2 or 3 years ofcourse work.
The Center has had impact not only inside the University but also upon other TVET
institutions in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces. The faculties in other departmentsof the University learned how to standardize technical training programs. Also, many
students who learned in the center became instructors and introduced standardized
technical training programs to other TVET institutions. Moreover, the Center trained
instructors of TVET institutions such as vocational colleges, secondary vocational
training schools and vocational training centers. For example, Cao Thang TechnicalCollege has conducted annual training courses for its instructors in the Center.

27

Table 7. Number of Students and Instructors at the Vietnam–Germany Training Center(1993-2008)
Year
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

Number of students/trainees
Number ofProfessional
University Technicalinstructors
secondary1
2
level
traineeslevel (2
9
n.a.
n.a.
10
n.a.
45
15
n.a.
99
15
n.a.
116
16
n.a.
123
18
n.a.
218
18
n.a.
221
18
n.a.
n.a.
125
19
n.a.
694
160
19
n.a.
833
214
19
n.a.
813
212
18
n.a.
750
169
19
n.a.
778
216
18
n.a.
618
275
18
n.a.
721
315
18
n.a.
411
396

Note
1. Although the training program for regular students accounts for 50%of the Center’s training capacity, the number of students is notavailable because they are not counted as the Center’s students but
belong to the three faculties.
2. In 2000 the Center opened technical training courses as outputs ofthe two projects received from Siemens and MTS.

Source: Data provided by the Vietnam-Germany Training Center.

10 years after its establishment, it seems that the Center has gained a fair reputation
among enterprises. Thanks to the networking efforts of former German project experts,
the partnership with FDI enterprises is becoming a new modality to keep technology
updated. Some large FDI enterprises have selected the Center as a training partner in
Vietnam. For example, Siemens assisted the Center to set up a training facility for
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). Another German company, MTS, assisted theestablishment of a training facility for CNC software. The Center is now developing
partnerships with other MNCs such as Intel, Omron, and Rockwell Automation. In
addition, the Center has tried to strengthen relationships with enterprises for the purposeof graduate recruitment. It has organized an alumni gathering every year in order tolearn about the contemporary state of business and recruitment. The University also
holds periodic “customer” review meetings with enterprises who have recruited
graduates.
Despite the relative success in building partnership with FDI enterprises, the Center still
has some challenges. For one thing, enterprises usually finance only a part of theinvestment and the Center has to mobilize the rest. For example, Siemens provided 40%
28

of the total cost (US$ 250,000) to set up the training facility, while the Center needed tomobilize another 40% from GWZ (the Agency for International Economic andScientific Cooperation of Germany) and self-finance the rest of 20%. Similarly, MTS
provided 40% of the total cost (US$ 480,000), while another 40% was financed by aGerman non-profit organization and the rest, 20%, by the Center. In addition, although
the primary purpose of the Center is the training of instructors, many graduates may beattracted to work in FDI enterprises, rather than become instructors in TVET institutions,
given the opportunities for learning and higher salaries.
5.5. Local initiatives for skills development: Cao Thang Technical College
The last case is a skills-development initiative that has taken place without ODA
assistance. Cao Thang Technical College (the College), located in the center of Ho Chi
Minh City, has more than one hundred years of history in providing technical education.
It was established as the Asian Engineering School in 1906 during the French colonial
period. The school changed its name to Cao Thang Technical School in 1956 and was
upgraded to a technical college in 2004. The college offers regular educational andvocational training programs. The College is mainly supervised by MOIT, but it should
also follow MOET’s guideline for higher academic education programs and MOLISA’sguideline for vocational training programs.
The College mainly offers 4 courses: (i) college diploma course; (ii) vocational college
diploma course; (iii) professional secondary education diploma course; and,(iv) vocational secondary education diploma course. The vocational college andsecondary courses were newly established in 2006 after the promulgation of the Law on
Vocational Training. Accordingly, the number of graduated students increased from4,200 in 2001 to 7,500 in 2006 and reached around 10,000 in 2008.
i. College diploma course
This course offers education and training in 10 fields: mechanical design andmanufacturing; automobile mechanics; industrial electrics; industrial electronics;
refrigeration thermo-electrics; information technology; telecommunications;electro-mechanics; automation; and accounting. The students receive a college
diploma by completing 3 years of study. The College accepts about 1,500
students for this course each year.
ii. Vocational college diploma course
This course was newly opened in 2006 and offers training in the same 10 fields
that the academic college diploma course does. The differences between the twocourses are found in the entrance examination system, type of diploma and the29curriculum structure. Also, the vocational college course allocates more time onpractical training (around 70% of the total class hours) than theoreticaleducation.
iii. Secondary professional education diploma course
This course offers education in 9 fields: mechanical repairing; mechanicaldesign and manufacturing; automobile repairing; industrial electrics; industrial
electronics;
refrigeration
thermo-electrics;
information
technology;
electronics-telecommunications; electro-mechanics; and accounting. Graduatesof upper secondary school require 2 years and graduates of lower secondary
school require 3 years for completing this course work. The College accepts
around 2,000 students for this course.
iv. Secondary vocational education diploma course
The structure of this course basically follows the secondary professional
education course. The differences between the two courses are found in theentrance examination system, diploma and the curriculum structure. Around
1,000 students enroll in this course every year. Also, graduates of the vocational
secondary training course need to have a diploma of upper secondary school inorder to take entrance examinations for colleges and universities supervised by
MOET.
The management of the College stresses that it is important to make students consciousof a target career and the required skills in all of the above courses. The College
provides elaborate training programs which require the active participation of students.
For example, for homework, students are asked to work on machines independently.
This aims to improve their skills through individual initiative and by stimulating
creativity. Practice workshops are often open, even after class hours. Students at thecollege level need to complete an assignment for graduation which requires them toindependently design and make a product. Furthermore, the College promotes student
internships over 6-7 weeks for students in academic programs and 20 weeks for those invocational training programs. Many students have been recruited by the companies
which accepted them as interns, immediately after their graduation.
In addition to the above courses for full-time students, the College offers short-termcourses in the fields of: furniture and wood processing; metal processing; benching;lathe; milling; welding; forging; automobile repairing; industrial electrics; refrigeration
thermo-electrics; industrial electronics and so forth. About 7,000 students every year do
short-term courses. The College also conducts on-site factory training upon requestfrom enterprises. 2,730 employees from 195 firms attended on-site factory training30

programs in 2006.
The College’s cooperation with FDI and domestic enterprises, such as through students
internships, has been beneficial. Some enterprises have donated training equipment to
the College. For example, Toyota has provided some automobile maintenance training
instruments. One Vietnamese company provided a training facility for automation. For
improving the curriculum, the College sometimes invites representatives fromenterprises for comment, in particular when new programs start. However, cooperation
with enterprises is not yet systematic. Cooperation has been ad-hoc efforts anddepended upon personal networks such as alumnus or an instructor’s personalconnection. In addition, the College sometimes struggles to find partners for internships
or on-site training, particularly when the economic situation is not good and there is a
gap between the skill demand of enterprises and the popularity of gaining that skill forstudents. For example, many enterprises want to recruit those who are good at welding,but this subject is not very popular for students nowadays.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee is trying to support cooperation between
TVET institutions such as the Cao Thang Technical College and enterprises. Since 2007,
DOLISA of Ho Chi Minh City has organized a program to promote practical on-sitetraining for students through partnerships between vocational training schools andenterprises. This program depends on contributions from the People’s Committee,
enterprises and TVET institutions: the People’s Committee provides financial support
for materials purchased for practical training; enterprises prepare the training venue andparts of the materials (raw or otherwise) training; and TVET institutions provide certain
amounts of co-finance. Nonetheless, it seems that this program has faced challenges.
For instance, there is often a timing gap between when TVET institutions andenterprises want to conduct training. Another issue is the difficulty of securing financial
resources, because the program continues to be more costly than expected.

6. How to build partnerships with FDI enterprises
The cases introduced in Section 5 have been relatively successful in developing
industrial human resources in partnership with enterprises. Table 8 summarizes themeans by which each TVET institution has built partnerships, including PSDC and TNI
as benchmarking examples.

31

Table 8. Means of Mobilizing Partnership with Enterprises
Name of TVET schools

Country

PSDC

Malaysia

TNI

ThailandSupport of Regular
Receiving
Curriculum
Skill
Enterprises'
Short-term
foreignmeetingorders from Internship Review Meeting Demand involvement incoursesexperts with Alumni
enterprises
with Enterprises survey management-

HIC-JICA/VJC

VietnamVietnam-Germany Training
CenterVietnam○○○○

Cao Thang TechnicalCollegeVietnam-

VSTTC/Vietnam-Singapore
Vietnam
Vocational College

？
○
?
?
○
○

○
○
○
△
○
○

○
-

?

○
○
○
?

○

○
○
△

？
？
△

○
△

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

△
△

-

○: Used as a regular or main means or fully implemented△: Used as a temporary means or partially implemented

Note-: Not or seldom used?: Unknown

Source: Authors.

Except Cao Thang Technical College, the other three schools in Vietnam have started
developing partnerships with enterprises for the implementation period of ODA
technical assistance projects. In the case of VSTTC and the Vietnam–Singapore
Vocational College, the industrial zone management company, VSIP JV Ltd. has
bridged a gap between the school and FDI enterprises in VSIP. In the cases of the
HIC-JICA project and the Vietnam–German Training Center, German and Japanese
project experts actively connected with enterprises, taking advantage of their nationality
and expertise. These connections have become a valuable asset for the schools after thecompletion of their projects.
Cao Thang Technical College has mobilized cooperation with enterprises mainly
through its alumni network and instructors’ personal connections, without assistancefrom foreign experts. For example, the College gained support from Toyota, because a
graduate from the College won a gold medal in an internal Toyota skill competition.
This has probably been possible due to the long history of College. Alternatively, otherschools have needed the support of foreign experts to make connections with enterprisesin the short term. The Vietnam–Germany Training Center also organizes annual
meetings with alumni.
Providing short-term courses is a common tool used to strengthen relationships withenterprises, as well as improve financial sustainability. The Vietnam–German Training
Center and Cao Thang Technical College have delivered short-term training courses,
customized based on enterprises’ training needs, for company employees. On the other
hand, Vietnam–Singapore Vocational College and VJC are gradually shifting their focus
to training students in regular and long-term courses rather than through short-term
32

training courses. This may be because the two schools need to allocate more resources
for regular students, in order to cope with increasing numbers of students in regularcourses.
Developing relationships with enterprises through short-term training courses, the above
two schools received client enterprises’ assistance for upgrading training facilities, as
PSDC and TNI had done. This has helped the schools learn about up-to-datetechnologies and strengthen their financial sustainability. There are, of course, several
challenges to overcome. In many cases, enterprises could only provide partial funding
for training facilities. Although the Vietnam–German Training Center managed tocollect co-financing by utilizing several options, constant fund mobilization is not easy.
Moreover, some FDI enterprises are slightly suspicious about the effects of donating
equipment to TVET institutions. They are afraid that schools may just use theirequipment to earn incomes, and not for developing the skills of students.
The HIC-JICA project and VJC have been receiving manufacturing orders from FDI
enterprises, but this measure would be controversial. Some enterprises wonder if
receiving manufacturing orders really benefits students or just increases the incomes ofschools, deviating from the original purposes of training and education. In addition,such measures may impede business activities of small and medium enterprises if they
focus on taking mass-production orders, instead of those for an experimental purpose.
Promoting internships in enterprises is another common tool which all schools above
have used. Students can improve their practical skills through internships, while theschools can strengthen their relationship with enterprises, in particular for graduate
recruitment. In most cases, internship programs increase job opportunities for students.
However, it takes a lot of time and human power to search for partner enterprises who
can accept internships, because the most effective ways to achieve these is throughcompany visits and face-to-face meetings. During the implementation period of ODA
projects, foreign experts can work to build partnerships with enterprises throughinternships, taking advantage of their expertise, native languages and nationality. It is
ideal that national staff take over coordination roles after the project is completed, but
this may not happen all the time. In addition, current economic and business conditions
may also affect whether enterprises choose to accept internships.
Among the Vietnamese schools introduced in Section 5, other means such as in-depth
skill and labor demand surveys, curriculum review meetings with enterprises, andenterprises’ involvement as management council members, are not regularly utilized
yet.. While PSDC and TNI have embedded regular cooperation with enterprises into
their systems by adopting those advanced means, the Vietnamese schools still depend33

on ad-hoc efforts by project experts or school staff. Many people have recently started
to emphasize that the TVET institutions should consider the skill demands of enterprises.
Although it is known that enterprises want “skilled” workers from many generalsurveys, this information is not enough to improve TVET programs. Conducting
in-depth surveys for skill demand may be needed, but not many enterprises tend torespond to comprehensive and detailed questionnaires. For example, when the
Vietnam–Singapore Vocational College conducted a survey, only 10% of enterprises
responded. Enterprises may explain that the survey format is not user-friendly or it is
too difficult to forecast the skills needed. Furthermore, even if the TVET institutions
receive detailed feedback from enterprises, it may be difficult to change their training
and educational curricula drastically. The schools can usually modify their curricula
within 10-20% of the total curricula under their discretion. If they want to change
curricula by more than 10-20%, or establish new course fields, they need to go throughthe approval procedures of MOET or MOLISA. This often takes a lot of time and effort.

7. Concluding remarks: toward concrete policy proposals
Vietnam has made remarkable progress in economic development and FDI expansion,
mainly because of its low-wage and good-quality labor force. However, if industrial
human resources cannot be developed as expected, the potential for growth may taper
off sooner or later. Vietnam’s high potential in industrial human resources is widely
recognized, but turning this potential into reality is a key challenge in promoting further
industrialization in Vietnam. To promote collaboration, in particular with FDI
enterprises, would be the most effective way to accelerate industrial skill developmentin Vietnam, by taking advantage of increasing FDI and promoting technology transferfrom FDI enterprises. Recent shortages of skilled labor, rising wages and higher
demands on local procurement, are bringing about more chances for collaboration
between TVET institutions and enterprises.
This paper has provided an overview of labor demand, the TVET system and some goodpractices for cooperation with FDI enterprises in Vietnam. However, one important
issue which this paper did not discuss is the role of government. The Vietnamese
government has already realized the importance of demand-based skill development.
What kind or roles should national or provincial governments play in strengthening thepartnership between TVET institutions and enterprises? In principle, partnerships
should be on a voluntary basis so that the governments cannot force either party tocooperate. Therefore, the government’s role should be more for coordination, rather
than through active intervention and reduction of barriers between TVET institutions
and enterprises. Possible options for further research are listed below:

34

-Promotion of internships in enterprises: It may be helpful to provide assistancefor TVET institutions who want to promote internships in enterprises. In Ho Chi
Minh City, DOLISA has implemented an assistance program, although it seems
that the program faces difficulties. The lessons drawn from this trial will be
useful for further improvement of the program in Ho Chi Minh City and otherprovinces.

-

Development of incentive schemes which urge enterprises to use TVET
programs: The national and provincial governments may consider the effects
and feasibility of incentive schemes such as tax exemptions for enterprises whourge their employees to take external learning courses. It would be beneficial tolearn about the structure and effects of other countries’ incentive policies, suchas the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) in Malaysia. HRDF
operates on the basis of a levy/grant system. Employers who have paid the levy
will qualify for training grants from the fund to defray or subsidize training costs
for their Malaysian employees31.

-

Skills and labor demand survey: It would be useful to support TVET institutions
by conducting comprehensive surveys for skills demand. Surveys conducted bygovernment are able to capture an overview of labor demand, but may notcollect detailed enough information for TVET institutions to improve theirtraining programs. Therefore, rather than conducting in-depth surveys alone, it is
proposed that the government helps TVET institutions to conduct individual
surveys for clients by providing feasible survey methods and promoting
information exchange among different schools.

-

Increasing flexibility to improve curricula: The government may consider how
TVET institutions can reflect the demands of enterprises in its curricula.
Standard curricula are needed, but it may also be beneficial to establish more
efficient evaluation and approval procedures for new courses, as well as thereview mechanisms for curricula revisions in order to catch up with the demandsof enterprises.

The role of ODA technical assistance projects is mainly to assist TVET institutions todevelop their capacity in terms of both hardware and software, and to support the
government to facilitate cooperation between TVET institutions and enterprises. Several
31

Manufacturing companies, which employ more than 50 workers or employ more than 10 workers andhave capital of more than RM 2.5 million, contribute an amount equivalent to 1% of an employee’s
monthly wage to this fund. The remaining companies contribute an amount equivalent to 0.5% of an
employee’s monthly wage. Refer to: MIDA (2005).

35

ideas are listed below:-

In addition to donating equipment and capacity building for instructors, it would
be beneficial to provide foreign experts who can strengthen relationships
between enterprises and TVET institutions. Moreover, it would ensure better
sustainability of projects if foreign experts can train school members as theirsuccessors before projects finish.

-

ODA projects may assist TVET institutions to conduct comprehensive skills andlabor demand surveys. It takes time and money to establish survey
methodologies through trial and error and thus, TVET institutions tend tohesitate in conducting surveys regularly. Thus, it would be beneficial if ODA
technical assistance projects provide technical advice and finance for several
pilot surveys, although sustainable survey methods should be established during
the projects.

-

Good practices for cooperation between TVET institutions and enterprises
should be widely disseminated. Although there is no grand method which can beapplied nationwide, it is still useful to promote experience sharing among TVET
institutions in different provinces and cities. The ODA project may support
national or local government to facilitate dissemination of grass-roots goodpractices.

This paper has reviewed the current state of TVET programs in Vietnam and examined
emerging cases of cooperation between TVET institutions and FDI enterprises. In orderto draft more comprehensive policy proposals, further research is required into whatkind of policy options can be effective in the context of Vietnam, in view of theexperiences in more advanced countries,

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在アジア

日系製造業の経営実態―ASEAN・インド編

ベトナム社会主義共和国ハノイ
工科短期大学機械技術者養成計画終了時評価調査団報告書

ベロプメント グローバル化と途上国の人材育成

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政策とその現在の実施状況

東アジアの工業化と技術形成

Annex A. List of TVET institutions visited and their contact addresses
No.
1.

SchoolContact address

Vietnam-Singapore Vocational

Highway 13, Thuan Giao Village, Thuan An District,College

Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
Tel: +84-(0)650-382-0655; Fax: 84-(0)650-382-0812

2.

3.

Vietnam-Germany Training

01-03 Vo Van Ngan Street, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City,

Center, University of Technical

Vietnam

Education

Tel: +84-(0)8-3896-4575; Fax: +84-(0)8-3896-6046

Cao Thang Technical College

65 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam
Tel: +84-(0)8-3821-2361; Fax: +84-(0)8-3821-5951

4.

Vietnam-Japan Center, Hanoi

Minh Khai, Tu Liem, Hanoi, Vietnam

University of Industry

Tel: +84-(0)4-3765-5407; Fax: +84-(0)4-3765-5409

38