Survey Report

Quality of Technical and Vocational Education
and Training:
Perceptions of Enterprises in Hanoi and Surrounding
Provinces

November 2010

Junichi Mori+
Pham Truong Hoang++Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuy+++

Program officer in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) from November 2006 to January 2010; theindustry-university partnership expert at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s technical assistance project for
Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) from January 2010.
++
Vietnam Development Forum (VDF) and National Economics University (NEU).
+++
Vietnam Development Forum (VDF).
+

Table of Contents
Executive summary............................................................................................................1
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................3
2. Background and overview of survey ............................................................................3
3. Main survey findings .....................................................................................................6
3.1. Evaluation of TVET graduates in general ...........................................................................6
3.2. Evaluation of VJC graduates ...............................................................................................93.3. In-company training after recruitment...............................................................................10
3.4. Capacity of TVET institutions ...........................................................................................11
3.5. Recruitment forecast ..........................................................................................................123.6. Training needs for TVET institutions ................................................................................13

4. Summarizing survey findings: What is the role of TVET institutions for industrial
human resource development? .......................................................................................16
4.1. Main actors for skill development .....................................................................................16
4.2. Roles of TVET institutions and college-level or professional-secondary-level education forskill development ................................................................................................................174.3. Strengthening the link with enterprises...............................................................................194.4. Strengthening the link with enterprises...............................................................................20

5. Reviewing the survey methods as guidance for TVET institutions.........................20
5.1. Formulation of survey questionnaire ..................................................................................20
5.2. How to increase respondent ratio........................................................................................215.3. Thematic and geographical scope of survey .......................................................................215.4. Who is an appropriate focal point in an enterprise .............................................................22

6. Closing remarks .... ......................................................................................................22
References.........................................................................................................................23
Annex ................................................................................................................................24
Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................24-I-List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1. Structure of survey questionnaire ....................................................................................4
Figure 2. Transition of number of respondents ...............................................................................5
Figure 3. Evaluation of TVET graduates: General skills................................................................7
Figure 4. Evaluation of TVET graduates: Technical skills .............................................................7
Figure 5. Evaluation of TVET graduates by industrial sector ........................................................8
Figure 6. Evaluation of TVET graduates by main investor’s nationality .......................................9
Figure 7. Evaluation of VJC graduates: General skills ...................................................................9
Figure 8. Evaluation of VJC graduates: Technical skills ..............................................................10
Figure 9. Capacity of TVET institutions.......................................................................................11
Figure 10. Capacity of TVET institutions: By investor nationality ..............................................12
Figure 11. Training needed in TVET institutions..........................................................................14
Figure 12. Training needed in tvet institutions: By investor nationality.......................................14
Figure 13. Training needs vs. Evaluation for general skills..........................................................15
Figure 14. Training needs vs. Evaluation for technical skills .......................................................16
Figure 15. Main factors for industrial human resource development ...........................................16
Figure 16. Overview of production-related staff structure ...........................................................18

Table 1. Structure of respondents....................................................................................................6
Table 2. Training after recruitment................................................................................................11
Table 3. Recruitment forecast: University/college graduates........................................................12
Table 4. Recruitment forecast: Secondary school and others........................................................13
Table 5. Common measures to strengthen links with enterprises .................................................19-II-

List of Acronyms
CNC

Computer Numerical Control

FDI

Foreign Direct Investment

HAUI

Hanoi University of Industry

HCMC

Ho Chi Minh City

JBAH

Japan Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City

JICA

Japan International Cooperation Agency

NEU

National Economics University

PLC

Programmable Logic Controller

SME

Small and Medium Enterprise

TNI

Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology

TVET

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Orgainization

VDF

Vietnam Development Forum

VJC

Vietnam Japan Center

VJCC

Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Center

VSIP

Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park-III-

Executive Summary
Seventy-six manufacturers were surveyed to gain an understanding of how
they evaluate technical and vocational
education and training (TVET) programs in Vietnam. The manufacturing
enterprises surveyed are in the elec
trical and electronic, motorcycle andautomotive and other mechanicalsectors in Hanoi and its vicinity.
Regarding the breakdown by ownership, 48.7% are Vietnamese enterprises;
31.6% are Japanese; and 19.7% areother foreign-invested enterprises.
Regarding general job ability, results ofthe survey indicated that TVET graduates are good at following company
rules and operational standards, butthey are not highly evaluated in production-site management skills. It is often
said that TVET graduates do not actively improve operation and their work
using specific techniques such as
kaizen or make their workplace clean
and efficient. Also, evaluation on teamworkability is relatively low.
The results from the section on technicalskills indicate that TVET graduates
tend to learn how to use new machines
quickly. The evaluation on specifictechnical skills such as plastic mold injection, casting and forging are not veryhigh. Many Japanese enterprises said
that TVET graduates lack basic engineering knowledge and skills, such as
blueprint reading, while some Vietnamese enterprises commented thatthey wanted to recruit students withspecific skills. Many enterprises suggested that TVET institutions shouldinteract with enterprises more actively.
The main factors that influence skill
development, such as quality ofstudents, are TVET schools, enterprises, society and culture and the relationship among them. Among thevarious levels of TVET institutions,college-level and secondary-level education is important for supplying competent production engineers andtechnicians who become the core ofII.1 K- nowledge about 5S

2.79

II.2 - Practice of 5S

2.97

II.3 -Teamwork ability

3.30

II.4- Follow company rules

3.62

II.5- Follow operation standards

3.54

II.6 - Follow the guidance of supervisor

3.68

II.7- Be independent at work

3.22

II.8 -Willingness for Self- improvement

3.33

II.9 - Actively participate in “Kaizen” activities

3.20

II.10 - Entrepreneurship

3.25
1

2

3

II.11-How to read blueprints

4

3.25

II.12- Skill and knowledge ofbasic technology

3.34

II.13-Skills of machine metal
processing

3.42

II.14- Skills of forging

3.05

II.15- Skills of casting

3.19

II.16- Skills of assembling moldand die

3.29

II.17-Skills of operating plastic
injection molding machines

3.1

II.18- Skills of electronic
measuring

3.26

II.19- Use new machines
quickly

3.63

II.20- Knowledge of quality
control and assurance

3.12
1

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5

2

3

4

5

manufacturing sites at the current stage ofindustrialization in Vietnam. Factory jobs
include various positions such as productdesigners, production engineers, productionline leaders, and production-line workers.
Since many FDI and domestic enterprises
have been building or expanding their factories, the demand for college and secondarygraduate technicians who can leadproduction innovation activities (or kaizen
activities) as engineers, technicians or line
leaders, is presumed to be high.

Quality of Students/Graduates
SocietyandCultureGeneral• Working attitude• Teamwork• Leadership• 5S

Technical
skills/knowledge
Basic Theory
Basic Skills
Advance/ProductSpecific Skills• Kaizen

TVET institutions/programs

Facility
Teachers
Curriculum
Practical Training

Internship
Ad-hoclectures
Customized
training

Enterprises

This report recommends that TVET institutions should improve their capacity to provide the solid basic knowledge and skills that
Demand is still not sohigh in Vietnam
will improve the versatility of students,
because detailed skill needs tend to differ by
Product• Middle managers who canDesigners
lead Kaizen activities
industrial sectors and individual enterprises.
• Engineers/technicians
At the same time, strengthening the link with
who are skilled at highProduction Engineers
precision processing/ Technicians
enterprises and learning about business• Multi-skilled productionline leaders who can manage
trends and up-to-date technologies are still
and improve the entire
Production-line leaders
production process
important for TVET institutions to organize
their basic educational and training programs
Good reputation in
Production-line workers
based on industry’s needs. It is useful toVietnamexplore ways that institutions can cooperatewith enterprises to increase supplementary
practical training opportunities through promotion of collaborative training, internships and othermeasures. To improve their cooperation with enterprises, TVET institutions should have clear strategies based on their comparative advantages and future visions, such as what their priority technicalfields are and what type of industrial human resources they want to supply.

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1. Introduction
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has drastically increased in Vietnam since 2004. This increase canbe seen as a second investment boom, following the first surge in investment during the latter halfof the 1990s. The total value of approved FDI projects reached US$ 71.7 billion1 in 2008, which
is more than three times the value in 2007, US$ 21.3 billion (GSO, 2010). However, most of these
FDI enterprises were attracted to Vietnam by the abundance of good, low-wage production-line
workers. While this investment has contributed to the initial stage of industrialization, sustainableindustrialization and economic growth will require high-level industrial human resources such as
excellent technicians and production-line leaders who can improve production operations. Suchworkers are needed not only for foreign subsidiaries that receive direct technology transfer through
FDI, but also for local suppliers that may receive indirect technology transfer from the spillover
effects of FDI enterprises. Local suppliers as well as FDI suppliers are important for supporting
industries. Without the development of supporting industries, international competitiveness in themachine-manufacturing sector cannot be improved, even if the number of final assemblers increases2.
It is widely recognized that Vietnam has high potential for developing industrial human resources,
but, at this moment, the shortage of technicians and middle managers has become apparent. While
FDI assemblers are expanding their investment in Vietnam for now, they may move to othercountries 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 and lead innovative activities before the country loses the advantagesof having a low-wage labor force.
The government, enterprises and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in Vietnam have become more aware of the shortage of skilled workers and have started
stressing the need for demand-oriented education and training, since the current TVET programsin Vietnam are supply-oriented. This is a good movement, but several issues need to be overcome
to achieve the target. The demand-oriented education and training should be based on enterprises’
needs for skills or skilled workers. However, the kind of skills that enterprises need is still not clear. The
concept of “skills,” which is often mentioned in newspapers or government commentary, is too broad
and ambiguous to identify the actual training needs of TVET institutions. Another issue is how TVET
institutions should balance general education and company-specific training. The primary purpose of
TVET institutions includes provision not only of practical or company-specific skills, but also of generaland theoretical knowledge. It may not be easy to decide to what extent the TVET institutions should try
to fulfill requests from enterprises, since these requests must be balanced with the need for the general
education that strengthens the fundamental capacity of students.
To obtain an overview of enterprises’ needs, we designed and conducted our survey to learn enterprises’ perceptions of the quality of TVET institutions. The main task of this survey report is toaddress the question: What kinds of skills are required for TVET graduates and what is the role of
TVET institutions? We analyzed the answers from 76 enterprises. The following section will explain
the background and overview of the survey. Section 3 describes the main findings from the survey.
In Section 4, the findings from the survey are elaborated and summarized. In Section 5, we discuss
the survey methodology and how it can be replicated by TVET institutions. Section 6 provides
concluding remarks.

2. Background and Overview of Survey
The survey was jointly designed and conducted by international and domestic organizations who
12This is the total registered capital of licensed FDI projects. The value of implemented capital in 2008 was about US$ 11.5 billion.
The necessity of supporting industries is mentioned in Mori (2005), VDF (2006), and Nguyen (2007).

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have been working to innovate industrial policies and develop industrial human resources, namely
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Vietnam Development
Forum (VDF), National Economics University (NEU), Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), andthe Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Also, the survey was developed as an extensive
research activity under Hiroshima University’s research project entitled “Research on Cooperationin the Field of Skill Development Education and Economic Development.” The core researchers
on this project had drafted a report on Vietnam’s TVET system3 under the Hiroshima University
project, but found it was necessary to collect extensive quantitative and qualitative data aboutenterprises’ perception of the quality of TVET programs in Vietnam to provide more practicalinformation for the TVET institutions and policy makers. With additional assistance from JICA,
the research team developed the survey framework and conducted the survey from November 2008
to February 2009.
The survey aimed to identify what kind of skills are required for TVET graduates and what therole of TVET institutions is by analyzing enterprises’ evaluations of TVET graduates. Anotherpurpose of the survey was to examine the performance of the Vietnam Japan Center (VJC) under
HaUI and its graduates, which has been supported by JICA under the Project for Strengthening
Training Capabilities of Technical Workers at Hanoi Industrial College (hereafter called the
HIC–JICA Project) from 2000 to 20054.
The research methodology was a mixture of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The survey results
provided quantitative data, and in-depth interviews with key people at selected enterprises provided
qualitative information. These face-to-face interviews with enterprises were needed to supplement
the quantitative data, because enterprises often tell more in face-to-face interviews.
The research team drafted the questionnaire (see Annex), which consists of seven sections: (I)company overview; (II) evaluation of graduates of vocational training schools and programs ingeneral; (III) evaluation of graduates of VJC under HaUI; (IV) in-company training for new graduates of vocational schools after recruitment; (V) evaluation of the capacity of vocational training
schools and programs in Vietnam; (VI) recruitment forecast for technical workers; (VII) suggestions

Figure 1. Structure of Survey Questionnaire
Data by sector or company
size

I. Company overview

II. Evaluation on graduates of vocational training
schools and programs in general
Skill needs for TVET
Graduates

III. Evaluation of graduates of Vietnam Japan
Center under Hanoi University of Industry
IV. In-company training for new graduates ofvocational schools after recruitment
V. Evaluation on the capacity of vocational training
schools and programs in Vietnam

Factors to be improved in
TVET Institutions

VI. Recruitment forecast for technical workers

Human resource/skills
needs

VII. Suggestions for vocational training schools andprograms in Vietnam in general

Training needs in TVET
institutions

Source: Authors
3
4

See Mori, Nguyen and Pham (2009).
For further details of the HIC-JICA Project, see Mori, Nguyen and Pham (2009).

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Division of laborwith in-housetraining byenterprises

for vocational training schools and programs in Vietnam in general.
The relationships among sections and the type of information each section tried to find are shownin Figure 1. The purpose of Section I was to gain basic data on the responding enterprises and tosegregate the enterprises by sector, size and so forth. Sections II and III were to obtain perceptionsof enterprises about TVET graduates in general and those who graduated from VJC and to compare
the two evaluations in order to see the impact of the HIC-JICA Project. Section IV was to gain anunderstanding of the training needs in general for TVET graduates. After getting this overview
data, the results on the training needs from Sections II, III and IV should be compared with theresults from Section VII, which aims to identify perceptions about what kinds of training are better
done in TVET institutions and what should be done in the enterprises. Section V is to evaluate thecapacity of TVET institutions and to find out how many enterprises have visited TVET institutions.
Section VI was to obtain recruitment forecast data.
The survey mainly targeted enterprises in the machine industry such as assemblers and parts
suppliers for automobiles, motorcycles, and electric and electronic products. We focused on those
three sectors, because the machine industry is a high-potential industry that may grow rapidly andbecome a core industrial sector in the future by taking advantage of FDI. We selected 160 enterprises. Of these, 93 are foreign-invested enterprises, including 61 Japanese and 32 non-Japanese.
Sixty-seven of them are Vietnamese enterprises, based on a list of enterprises that have recruited
HaUI graduates and that UNIDO and VDF have contacted before for other studies.
It was not at all easy to collect the answers from the enterprises. The survey questionnaires weresent to 160 enterprises by post in the first stage. However, as expected to some extent, only 12 enterprises (8.6% of the total) responded by 23 December 2008, the reply deadline. As the second
step, team members contacted the enterprises by telephone or in face-to-face meetings. This helped
increase the number of responses to 68 enterprises (42.8%) by 22 January 2009, but we found that
there were fewer answers from Japanese enterprises than we had expected. As the final step, theresearch leader visited 8 Japanese enterprises, and the number of the respondents reached 76 companies (47.5%) by 27 February 2009 (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Transition of Number of Respondents
80
70

14
14

60
50

35

40

35

30
20
10
0

6
6
Dec.23
Other firms

19
Jan.22
Vietnamese firms

27

Feb.27
Japanese firms

Source: Authors

The respondents vary in terms of sector and ownership. The breakdown of respondents by industrial
sector is 31.6% from the electric and electronics sector; 18.4% from the automobile and motorcycle
sector; 47.4% from other machine-related sectors; and 2.6% are categorized as others (see Table1). Regarding the breakdown by ownership, 48.7% are Vietnamese enterprises; 31.6% are Japanese;and 19.7% are other foreign-invested enterprises.

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Table 1. Structure of Respondents
No ofEnterprises%

1. Vietnamese

37

48.7

18.4

2. Japanese

24

31.6

36

47.4

3. Other (Taiwanese, Korean,Chinese, etc.)

15

19.7

4. Others

2

2.6

Total

76

100

Total

76

100

No. ofEnterprises%

Ownership

1. Electrical and electronics

24

31.6

2. Automobile and motorcycle

14

3. Other machinery sector

Sector

Source: Authors

3. Main Survey Findings
The survey results were basically analyzed in two ways: (i) observing the relative tendency of
averaged scores in each section, examining the average by industrial sector or ownership; and (ii)comparing the tendencies of scores with findings from in-depth interviews or written comments inquestionnaires. Observing the relative tendency of average scores rather than looking at the absolutescores gives a better idea of the results. In many sections, we asked respondents to grade theiranswers from 1 to 5 in the questionnaire, aiming at quantifying the perception of enterprises. Sincesome respondents may tend to hesitate to give a score lower than 3, a score of more than 3 does
not always mean that respondents are satisfied. Therefore, we looked at the relative tendency ofthe scores in comparison with results of other questions in the same section. Then, we compared
the quantitative results with comments from in-depth interviews or those written in questionnaires.
This qualitative data complements the quantitative data.

3.1. Evaluation of TVET Graduates in General
We divided the questions into two groups to analyze the results for Section II, “Evaluation of TVET
Graduates in General.” Questions II.1 to II.10, which cover performance aspects such as working
attitude, are considered (i) general job ability; and Questions II.11 to II.21 are about (ii) technical skills.
The average score for general job ability suggested that enterprises found the knowledge andpractice of 5S5 among TVET graduates to be relatively lower than other items (see Figure 3).
Another finding is that TVET graduates seem relatively better at following company rules andoperation manuals as well as the guidance of supervisors. No particular tendency was foundregarding actively improving operation and their work using specific techniques such as kaizen6.

5S is a method for organizing a workplace, especially a shared workplace, and keeping it organized. It is a reference to a list of
five Japanese words which include SEIRI (Sort), SEITON (Set in order), SEISO (Shine), SEIKETSU (Systematize), and
SHITSUKE (Standardize / Self-discipline).
6
Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to theworkplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management, from the CEO
to the production line workers.
5-6-

Figure 3. Evaluation of TVET Graduates: General Job Ability
II.1 K- nowledge about 5S

2.79

II.2 - Practice of 5S

2.97

II.3 -Teamwork ability

3.30

II.4- Follow company rules

3.62

II.5- Follow operation standards

3.54

II.6 - Follow the guidance of supervisor

3.68

II.7- Be independent at work

3.22

II.8 -Willingness for Self- improvement

3.33

II.9 - Actively participate in “Kaizen” activities

3.20

II.10 - Entrepreneurship

3.25
1

2

3

4

5

Source: Authors

In general, comments gained through in-depth interviews are consistent with the above findings. It
was often said that TVET graduates did not have sufficient knowledge about 5S. Some enterprises
reported that their employees tended to follow the rules simply because they were afraid of penalties. On the other hand, some enterprises said that their employees did not have the ability to work
as a team, although the average score from the survey is not relatively low. In addition, someenterprises might not expect that students could learn kaizen in TVET institutions, because it may
be something that is difficult to learn and practice in school. This may have been the reason thatmany enterprises graded this question around 3, even though they were not satisfied with TVET
graduates’ attitudes toward kaizen.
The results from the section on technical skills indicate that TVET graduates tend to learn how to
use new machines quickly (see Figure 4). The evaluation on specific technical skills such as plastic
mold injection, casting and forging are not very high, but this would be reasonable considering thatstudents may not have had much opportunity to practice those skills in schools.

Figure 4. Evaluation of TVET Graduates: Technical Skills
II.11-How to read blueprints

3.25

II.12- Skill and knowledge ofbasic technology

3.34

II.13-Skills of machine metal
processing

3.42

II.14- Skills of forging

3.05

II.15- Skills of casting

3.19

II.16- Skills of assembling moldand die

3.29

II.17-Skills of operating plastic
injection molding machines

3.1

II.18- Skills of electronic
measuring

3.26

II.19- Use new machines
quickly

3.63

II.20- Knowledge of quality
control and assurance

3.12
1

2

Source: Authors

-7-

3

4

5

The above quantitative results are basically in line with comments heard in the interviews. Several
enterprises said that TVET graduates could learn to use new machines quickly. Nonetheless, someJapanese enterprises commented that TVET graduates did not know how to read blueprints, eventhough the average score from the survey on Question II.11 is not so low. In particular, Japaneseenterprises wondered why the graduates did not know third-angle orthographic projection. Regarding specific skills, some Japanese enterprises stated that students should learn basic knowledge andtheory that would become a strong foundation for applied skills later, because it would be difficult
to learn practical skills in schools anyway. On the other hand, Vietnamese enterprises tended tocomment that they want to recruit students who have already learned specific skills.
The evaluation of TVET graduates differs slightly by industrial sector and main investor’s nationality. Looking at the breakdown by industrial sector, the evaluation by enterprises in the automobile
and motorcycle sector7 is lower than the other sectors in general (see Figure 5). Before the survey,
we expected that the evaluation in the motorcycle sector would be higher than other sectors, because
it has a longer history of operation, higher local procurement ratio8, and larger market size. Several
reasons may be considered for this lower evaluation. Enterprises may be looking for higher
performance now that basic manufacturing operations are stabilized. Or, it is possible thatenterprises in this sector may be feeling disappointed about the slow progress of skill improvement
among their employees.

Figure 5. Evaluation of TVET Graduates by Industrial Sector
54

1. Electricaland electronics

3

2. Automobile
and motorcycle

II.21- Technical and vocational training
graduates satisfy employers’ needs

II.19- Use new machines quickly

II.20- Knowledge of quality control andassurance

II.18- Skills of electronic measuring

II.16- Skills of assembling mold and die

II.17- Skills of operating plastic injection
molding machines

II.15- Skills of casting

II.14- Skills of forging

II.13- Skills of machine metal processing

II.11- How to read blueprints

II.12- Skill and knowledge of basic
technology

II.10- Entrepreneurship

II.9- Actively participate in “Kaizen”
activities

II.8- Willingness to self-improvement

II.7- Be independent at work

II.6- Follow the guidance of supervisors

II.5- Follow operation standards

II.4- Follow company rules

II.3- Teamwork ability

II.2- Practice of 5S1

II.1- Knowledge about 5S2
3. Othermachinerysector
4. Others

Source: Authors

Since many companies produce both automobiles and motorcycles or production parts for both products, we combined the two
sectors.
8
Refer to VDF (2006) for overviews about procurement ratio.
7-8-

Figure 6. Evaluation of TVET Graduates by Main Investor’s Nationality
5
1. Vietnamese
4
2. Japanese3
3. Other(Taiwainese,
Korean,Chinese, etc.)
II.20- Knowledge of quality control
and assurance
II.21- Technical and vocational
training graduates satisfy

II.19- Use new machines quickly

II.18- Skills of electronic measuring

II.15- Skills of casting

II.16- Skills of assembling mold anddie
II.17- Skills of operating plastic
injection molding machines

II.14- Skills of forging

II.11- How to read blueprints

II.12- Skill and knowledge of basic
technology
II.13- Skills of machine metal
processing

II.10- Entrepreneurship

II.9- Actively participate in “Kaizen”
activities

II.8- Willingness to self-improvement

II.7- Be independent at work

II.6- Follow the guidance ofsupervisors

II.5- Follow operation standards

II.4- Follow company rules

II.3- Teamwork ability

II.2- Practice of 5S1

II.1- Knowledge about 5S

2

Source: Authors

Seeing the breakdown by main investor’s nationality, the average scores from Japanese enterprises
are lowest for most of the questions (see Figure 6). This result was as expected, because the quality
standards in Japanese enterprises are the strictest and the requirement for human resources are thehighest. On the other hand, it is curious that the average scores in other foreign-invested enterprises
are basically higher than Vietnamese enterprises.

3.2. Evaluation of VJC Graduates
Our assumption was that VJC graduates should be more highly evaluated as a result of the HICJICA Project. It seems that VJC graduates were more highly evaluated, because the average scoresfor all questions are more than 3. In this section, the evaluations of VJC graduates are consideredbetter if the score is more than 3, which means no difference with other TVET graduates. In
particular, VJC graduates were evaluated slightly better than TVET graduates in general job ability(see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Evaluation of VJC Graduates: General Job Ability
III.1- Knowledge about 5S

3.33

III.2- Practice of 5S

3.28

III.3- Teamwork ability

3.39

III.4- Follow company rules

3.22

III.5- Follow operation standards

3.33

III.6- Follow the guidance of supervisor

3.56

III.7- Be independent at work

3.50

III.8- W illingness for Self-improvement

3.44

III.9- Actively participate in “Kaizen” activities

3.33
0

1

Source: Authors

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2

3

4

5

On the other hand, although the average scores on technical skills are all over 3, there is lessdifference from other TVET graduates in some items such as mold and die assembling, operationof plastic injection molding machines, and electronic measuring (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Evaluation of VJC Graduates: Technical Skills
3.44

III.11-How to read blueprints

3.33

III.12- Skill and knowledge of basic technology

3.15

III.13-Skills of machine metal processing
III.14- Skills of forging

3.50

III.15- Skills of casting

3.50
3.14

III.16- Skills of assembling mold and die
III.17-Skills of operating plastic injection molding machines

3.00

III.18- Skills of electronic measuring

3.10
3.50

III.19- Use new machines quickly

3.36

III.20- Knowledge of quality control and assurance
0

1

2

3

4

5

Source: Authors

In summary, the results may indicate that the HIC-JICA Project contributed to improvement of
VJC graduates’ overall performance. However, the significance of those results might be questioned
due to the small size of samples, because only 17–18 enterprises answered this section. We had
difficulty in collecting responses for this section, because in reality many enterprises are indifferent
to the schools from which their employees graduated. In addition, some of them also do not
distinguish VJC graduates from other HaUI graduates.
Similar to the findings from the questionnaire responses, comments gained through interviews area mixture of positive and negative regarding VJC graduates. Some enterprises answered that VJC
graduates had better theoretical knowledge and practical skills. One enterprise attributed this togood training facilities, well-trained lecturers and strict selection of students in enrollment. In
contrast, one enterprise commented that students from Hanoi University of Technology and theVietnam-Germany College had better practical skills than those from VJC or HaUI. Also, anotherenterprise stated that graduates from industrial colleges and professional secondary schools,
including VJC, tended to quit their jobs quickly, saying that they wanted to go to university.
Therefore, this company preferred either university or high school graduates to those from colleges
and secondary school. In addition, one enterprise said that VJC staff had not been visiting enterprises after the Japanese experts left and the HIC-JICA Project was closed in 2005.

3.3. In-company Training after Recruitment
The goal of this section was to help us understand the training needs regarding basic working
attitude and skills, assuming that in-company training covers the items that TVET institutions havenot sufficiently provided for students. However, the questionnaire in this section did not work well,and there seems to have been some misunderstanding among enterprises about what the researchteam meant. This led to results that are difficult to interpret, but we may see that many enterprises
provide retraining for working attitude and basic skills, which TVET institutions should have done(see Table 2).
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Training Subject

N

1. 5S, Kaizen (by week)27

2. 5S, Kaizen (by hour/month)18

3. Working attitude (by week)35

4. Working attitude (by hour/month)18

5. Basic skills (by week)37

6. Basic skills (by hour/month)15

7. New machine operation (by week)33

8. New machine operation (by hour/month)14

9. Others (by week)7

10. Others (by hour/month)3

Note: N shows the number of enterprises which answered to the questions.
Source: Authors

Through interviews, it was found that many Japanese companies conducted initial training for new
employees, which varies from one week to one month, and on-the-job training after that. The initialtraining usually teaches company rules, workplace safety, basic skills, and basic operation
procedures. On the other hand, some Vietnamese companies, in particular SMEs, may not be able
to afford to provide basic training. Therefore, they may want to recruit TVET graduates withpractical skills.

3.4. Capacity of TVET Institutions
Before the survey, we expected the results would show dissatisfaction with the capacity of TVET
institutions. However, the actual results are better than our expectation for some items. The averagescores for facility, instructors, curriculum, practical training, internship and management are around4 points (see Figure 9). This may be attributed to the way we asked the questions: we asked
respondents to evaluate the TVET institutions they visited. Enterprises usually visit TVET
institutions with good reputations. That may be why the results are better than our expectation.

Figure 9. Capacity of TVET Institutions
V.1 - Facilities

4.00

V.2 - Instructors

4.00

V.3 - Curriculum

3. 94

V.4 - Practicing program

3.89

V.5 - Internship program

3.79

V.6 - Management

3.76
3.53

V.7 - Advertising for itself
3. 13

V.8 - Activities to interact with firms
V.9 - Asking for feedback from firms about its graduates

2.72
2. 84

V.10 - Asking for internship prgrams
2.59

V.11 - Asking for company's needs for graduates
1

2

Source: Authors

-11-

3

4

5

In contrast, the average scores on the communication or interaction with enterprises (Question from
V.8 to V.11) are around or lower than 3 points. This result agrees with comments during theinterviews that TVET institutions rarely come to ask enterprises what kind of training or skills theyrequire. In addition, many enterprises welcome internships, but they said that instructors of TVET
institutions should monitor the internships more closely. Instructors usually do not even come tovisit and see how students are doing during the internship. Similarly, some enterprises recommended
that instructors should visit enterprises and learn up-to-date skills. Other enterprises said that job
fairs should be better organized. In current job fairs, it is difficult to know to what degree or inwhat fields students are skilled. Furthermore, the results by investor nationality show that theevaluation of institutions interaction with the enterprises is lower for Vietnamese enterprises thanfor Japanese enterprises (see Figure 10). This suggests that TVET institutions tend to pay lessattention to local enterprises than to FDI enterprises.

Figure 10. Capacity of TVET Institutions: By Investor Nationality
51.
Vietnamese

43

2. Japanese

V.11 - Asking for company's
needs for graduates

V.10 - Asking for internshipprograms

V.9 - Asking for feedback fromfirms about its graduates

V.8 - Activities to interact withfirms

V.7 - Advertising for itself

V6. - Management

V.5 - Internship program

V.4 - Practicing program

V.3 - Curriculum

V.1 - Facilities

1V.2 - Instructors

2

3. Other(Taiwainese,
Korean,Chinese,etc.)

Source: Authors

3.5. Recruitment Forecast
This was another section in which we had difficulty collecting answers. Regardless of the industrial
sector or investor nationality, it seems that many enterprises cannot provide recruitment forecasts
for two main reasons: (i) they do not recruit fresh graduates regularly but post vacancies as necessary; and (ii) due to the negative impact of the recent economic crisis, many enterprises have beensuspending recruitment of new staff.

Table 3. Recruitment Forecast: University/College Graduates
Y2009

Y2010

Y2013

1. Machine and metal processing

40%

45%

50%

2. Forging

1%

2%

2%

3. Casting

5%

3%

6%

4. Assembling mold and die

5%

14%

5%

5. Plastic injection molding

3%

13%

8%

6. Production control

24%

7%

13%

7. Quality control and assurance

21%

15%

16%

Source: Authors-12-

Even with these constraints, it is still possible to find some implications in the survey results. One
finding is that, seeing the proportion of main professions for which enterprises plan to recruit new
staff, there should be higher demand for university or college graduates who learned machine andmetal processing, production control and quality control (see Table 3).
Almost the same results were found for secondary school and other graduates (see Table 4).

Table 4. Recruitment Forecast: Secondary School and Others
Y2009

Y2010

Y2013

1. Machine and metal processing

44%

36%

47%

2. Forging

0%

0%

1%

3. Casting

0%

0%

3%

4. Assembling mold and die

1%

1%

1%

5. Plastic injection molding

13%

16%

13%

6. Production control

9%

6%

6%

7. Quality control and assurance

33%

40%

29%

Source: Authors

Considering the low rate of responses from enterprises, the difficulty in getting recruitment forecasts
would be a major challenge if the government or TVET institutions are considering developing
training courses based on recruitment forecasts of enterprises. Many enterprises in Vietnam arestill young and have not had a regular recruitment cycle yet. Also, the recruitment demands of thecompanies frequently change depending on the economic situation, and it is not very likely thatmany enterprises will commit to recruitment in advance. In short, it is important that TVET
institutions consider the needs of enterprises when they establish their training courses, but theyshould also be aware of the difficulty in asking enterprises to commit to specific recruitment
numbers, even if the schools provide training based on company-specific needs.

3.6. Training Needs for TVET Institutions
The purpose of this section is not only to observe the training needs but also to gain an understanding of what a desirable division of labor between TVET institutions and in-house training byenterprises would be. The average scores for all technical skills are all over 4 points. Regarding
general job ability, the average scores for following company rules, supervisors and standards seem
relatively lower, while some items such as 5S, teamwork ability, self-improvement, kaizen andentrepreneurship spirit are over 4 points (see Figure 11).

-13-

Figure 11. Training Needed in TVET Institutions
4.3

VII.1 - Knowledge about 5S
3.99

VII.2 - Practice of 5S

4.3

VII.3 - Teamwork ability
VII.4 - Follow company rules

3.46
3.83

VII.5 - Follow operation standards
VII.6 - Follow the guidance of supervisors

3.28
4.15

VII.7 - Ability of independent working
VII.8 - Willingness to self-improvement

4.25

VII.9 - Concept of “Kaizen”

4.22
4.02

VII.10 - Promotion of entrepreneurship
VII.11 - How to read blueprints

4.55

VII.12 - Skill and knowledge of basic technology

4.53
4.51

VII.13 - Skills of machine metal processing

4.26

VII.14 - Skills of forging
VII.15 - Skills of casting

4.41

VII.16 - Skills of assembling mold and die

4.31

VII.17 - Skills of operating plastic injection molding machines

4.39

VII.18 - Skills of electronic measuring

4.37

VII.19 - Knowledge of quality control and assurance

4.21
0

1

2

3

4

5

Tra ining in TVET
institutions

Training in enterprise s

Source: Authors

However, this may not necessarily mean that most enterprises are satisfied with the performanceof TVET graduates for the items with relatively lower scores. The breakdown by investor nationality
indicates that Japanese enterprises want TVET institutions to strengthen general education such as
working attitudes, while Vietnamese enterprises put more priority on technical education (see Figure12). Since large Japanese enterprises often have internal training programs in place, they may preferto recruit students who are sufficiently disciplined and have good basic knowledge, which can be
the foundation for learning applied skills. On the other hand, many Vietnamese enterprises havenot applied good manufacturing practices, including strict quality control and continuous
productivity improvement. Therefore, because many of them may not have established internal
training programs, they might not care so much about general job ability, while they do require
TVET graduates to have practical technical skills

Figure 12. Training Needed in TVET Institutions: By Investor Nationality
54

3

1. Vietnamese2
2. Japanese

Source: Authors-14-

VII.19 - Quality control and assurance

VII.18 - Skills of electronic measuring

VII.16 - Skills of assembling mold and die

VII.17 - Skills of operating plastic injection
molding machines

VII.14 -Skills of forging

VII.15 - Skills of casting

VII.11 - How to read blueprints

VII.12 - Skill and knowledge of basic
technology
VII.13 - Skills of machine metal
processing

VII.9 - Concept of “Kaizen”

VII.10 - Promotion of entrepreneurshipspiritVII.8 - Willingness to self- improvement

VII.7- Ability of independent working

VII.5 - Follow operation standards

VII.3 - Teamwork ability

VII.4 - Follow company rules

VII.2 - Practice of 5S

VII.1 - Knowledge about 5S0

VII.6 - Follow the guidance of supervisors

1

3. Other(Taiwainese,
Korean,Chinese, etc.)

The results of this section supplement our observations from Section II. It is expected that, if theevaluation for a certain item is relatively lower in Section II of the questionnaire “Evaluation of
TVET Graduates in General,” the training needs for the same item, which are measured in thissection, should be higher. In contrast, if the evaluation for a certain item is lower but training needs
are also low, this may mean that enterprises feel it is not efficient to conduct the training for that
item in TVET institutions.
Most of the results fell into the first case, that the lower the evaluation is, the higher the training
needs are (see Figure 13). However, the training needs for practicing 5S seem relatively lower thanothers. This may reflect enterprises’ perceptions that it might be difficult to teach practical skills
such as 5S in classrooms to students who do not have working experience. However, someenterprises said in interviews that it would still be possible and useful to teach the essentials of 5S.
For example, it is useful to get students accustomed to cleaning up their own classrooms and toreturning tools to the appropriate places after use. The concept of kaizen may also be applied here.
Also, it would be useful to teach the basics of kaizen, such as the importance of shortening
lead-time and why it is necessary to keep the work place tidy for efficiency.

Figure 13. Training Needs vs. Evaluation for General Job Ability
2.79

1. Knowledge about 5S

4.30

2.97

2. Practice of 5S

3.99
3.30

3. Teamwork ability

4.30

3.62
3.46

4. Follow company rules

3.54

5. Follow operation standards
6. Follow the guidance ofsupervisors

3.28

7. Ability of independentworking

3.83

3.68

3.22

8. W illingness to selfimprovement

4.15

3.33

4.25

3.20

9. Concept of “Kaizen”

4.22

3.25

10. Entrepreneurship0

1

2
Training Needs

3

4.02
4

5

Evaluation

Source: Authors

The items related to following rules and supervisors (items 4 to 6) may seem to fall into the second
case, but this is probably because lower training needs in Vietnamese companies mitigated thehigher needs of Japanese enterprises. Some enterprises, in particular Japanese ones, said that TVET
institutions should pay more attention to helping students develop better and more professional
working attitudes and business manners. In addition, other companies mentioned the importanceof mathematics, foreign language and PC skills.
The relationship between evaluation and training needs for technical skills falls into the first case(see Figure 14). Comments received through questionnaires and interviews follow this result. ManyJapanese enterprises suggested that TVET institutions should strengthen training in reading anddrafting blueprints, saying that many TVET graduates cannot read and draft blueprints in the thirdangle orthographic projection. As for the technical fields the questionnaire did not cover, some enterprises want TVET institutions to strengthen training on facility and machine maintenance,-15-

mentioning that it is difficult to find technicians who have sufficient knowledge of maintenance inVietnam. Appropriate facility and machine maintenance is an important part of 5S and kaizen. At
the same time, those enterprises wonder if it is possible to teach those topics in schools. Other enterprises mentioned the importance of mold and die manufacturing, electrostatic painting, metalheat treatment, and sequential control. This may be because those enterprises have plans to expand
their business in said fields.

Figure 14. Training Needs vs. Evaluation for Technical Skills
3.25

11. How to read blueprints
12. Skill and knowledge ofbasic technology

4.55

3.34

13. Skills of machine metal
processing

4.53

3.42

4.51

3.05

14. Skills of forging

4.26

3.19

15. Skills of casting
16. Skills of assembling moldand die

4.41

3.29

4.31

3.10

17. Skills of operating plastic
injection molding machines

4.39

3.26

18. Skills of electronic
measuring

4.37

3.12

19. Quality control andassurance
0

1

2

4.21

3

Training Needs

4

5

Evaluation

Source: Authors

4. Summarizing Survey Findings: What is the Role of TVET Institutions for Industrial
Human Resource Development?
4.1. Main actors for skill development
We used the survey results to summarize the main factors that influence skill development, such as
quality of students, TVET institutions, enterprises, society and culture and their relationshipin Figure 15.

Figure 15. Main Factors for Industrial Human Resource Development
Quality of Students/Graduates
SocietyandCultureGeneral• Working attitude• Teamwork• Leadership• 5S

Technical
skills/knowledge
Basic Theory
Basic Skills
Advance/ProductSpecific Skills• Kaizen

TVET institutions/programs

Facility
Teachers
Curriculum
Practical Training

Source: Authors-16-

Internship
Ad-hoclectures
Customized
training

Enterprises

We consider competent and skilled workers to be those who have (i) good general job ability suchas a good working attitude, teamwork, leadership, knowledge and practice of 5S and kaizen; and(ii) good technical skills, which include basic theory, basic skills and product-based or companyspecific skills. The survey results seem to indicate that TVET institutions9 can contribute to thedevelopment of industrial human resources by strengthening the general job ability and basic
technical theory and skills of students. However, the improvement of general job ability cannot be
achieved only by efforts by the schools; this also depends on the influence of society and culture.
For example, if students grew up in households or communities in which they were never asked toclean their rooms, houses or communities for more than 15 years, it may be difficult to change theircustoms in two or three years in TVET institutions. On the other hand, the roles of enterprise indeveloping industrial human resources should be to teach advanced and product- or companyspecific skills based on the general knowledge taught in TVET institutions. As supplementary
options, it would be possible to teach certain introductory parts of advanced and practical skills in
TVET institutions, in partnership with enterprises, utilizing means such as internships, ad-hoc
lectures, and customized training. However, these would probably not be the main efforts.

4.2. Roles of TVET institutions and college-level or-secondary-level education forskill development
Considering important factors for skill development, what is the role of TVET Institutions? The
survey results indicate that TVET institutions should basically focus on providing the solid basic
knowledge and skills that are the foundation for applied skills such as company-specific skills.
Through the questionnaires and interviews, many Japanese enterprises commented that TVET
institutions should strengthen basic knowledge and skills of students without focusing too narrowly
on any one field. For example, students should learn why metal can cut metal or what kind of
accidents may be caused by mixing certain chemicals. In contrast, some local companies stressedthat TVET institutions should teach practical skills in specific fields. However, it is very difficult
for students to gain practical skills in the schools where the training capacity is limited in terms offacilities and instructors. Moreover, required skills may vary significantly by enterprise, and TVET
institutions would not be able to provide training for all company-specific skills in any case.
Among the various levels of TVET institutions, college-level and - secondary-level education, including VJC, is important for supplying competent production engineers and technicians who
become the core of manufacturing sites, at the current stage of industrialization in
Vietnam10. Factory jobs include various positions such as product designers, production engineers,
production-line leaders, and production-line workers (see Figure 16). Since many FDI and domestic
enterprises have been building or expanding their factories, the demand for college and secondary-graduate technicians who can lead production innovation activities (or kaizen activities) as
engineers, technicians or line leaders, is presumed to be high. However, some enterprises pointed
out that college or secondary graduates often leave enterprises after a short while. One reason may
be that the social status for college and secondary graduates is not very high. It is often heard thatmany parents prefer that their children go to university rather than gaining skills in
We assume that most of students in TVET institutions are high-school graduates without working experience in Vietnam. If the
majority of students in TVET institutions have work experience and their purpose is re-training, they should provide morepractical training.
10
For example, Japan also faced the shortage of skilled technicians in the high economic growth period around the 1960s. Then,the Government of Japan promoted the “Kousen (5-year technical college)” system in order to increase the supply of skilled
technicians.
9-17-

colleges or secondary schools. Another reason is that colleges and secondary schools have notsuccessfully differentiated themselves from universities. They should convince prospective students
and their parents of the benefits of acquiring practical knowledge and skills.

Figure 16. Overview of Production-related Staff Structure
Demand is still not sohigh in Vietnam

Product
Designers• Middle managers who canlead Kaizen activities

Production Engineers/ Technicians
Production-line leaders• Engineers/technicians
who are skilled at highprecision processing• Multi-skilled productionline leaders who can manage
and improve the entire
production process

Production-line workers

Good reputation in
Vietnam

Source: Authors

Training based on the specific skill needs of enterprises is important, but this does not necessarilymean that TVET institutions should always provide training in specific skills in narrow technicalfields. Considering the varied answers from enterprises, it would be more realistic for TVET institutions to focus on providing training on basic knowledge and skills that will make students moreversatile. It is difficult to find out detailed training needs, although that was in fact the original
target of the survey. Specific skill needs tend to differ significantly by sector and enterprise. Also,
enterprises, in particular Japanese enterprises, do not really count on advanced training to beprovided by TVET institutions. Finally, TVET institutions may want to ask for confirmation thatenterprises will recruit the students if they provide specific training based on the enterprise’s needs,
because a narrow course of study might make students less versatile, making it harder to be recruitedby other enterprises. Certainly, there are some cases in which TVET institutions provide training
courses for specific skills in partnerships with enterprises that may provide their internal experts
as instructors and necessary training equipment. For example, the Vietnam–Germany Center at
the University of Technical Education in Ho Chi Minh City has provided training courses on
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for employees of Siemens11. HaUI is providing training
courses on metal processing using CNC machines for prospective employees of Foxconn12. However, it is considered that those cases are still additional options, not the core programs of TVET
institutions. In most cases, enterprises may not want to promise recruitment of students a few years
in advance, because the hiring decision will depend on the business and economic situations. In
addition, TVET institutions may not have the capacity to undertake so many customized courses
for individual enterprises, and they need to balance the demand for specific skills with the general
11
12

Refer to Mori, Nguyen and Pham (2009) for further details.
Refer to the presentation made by HaUI in the JICA-VDF-UNIDO seminar in March 2009.

-18-

education necessary for a wide range of students. In short, offering strictly demand-based training
would be one option for TVET institutions, but it is proposed that this type of training should remaina small part of training programs and the major part should be about basic technical training, which
would give students more job flexibility.

4.3. Strengthening the link with enterprises
Strengthening the link with enterprises and learning about business trends and up-to-date technologies are still important for TVET institutions. At the same time, they should maintain attention tobasic technical education and training. Promotion of internship is one measure TVET institutions
can use to link with enterprises. The survey results indicate that many enterprises welcome
internships in principle. However, in reality TVET institutions are facing many challenges to startinginternship programs including coordination to match the skill needs of enterprises with the interestsof students; timing of internships; and cost sharing. Some public or private organizations may playintermediary roles in connecting TVET institutions and enterprises to promote internships. For
example, the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Center (VJCC) in HCMC is trying to match TVET institutions and enterprises. VJCC made a list of universities that want to send students for internships
to Japanese enterprises and provided the list to the Japan Business Association in HCMC (JBAH).
Then, JBAH circulated the list among Japanese enterprises who are interested in having interns.
Another way to strengthen the link with enterprises is to provide customized training for company
employees. By doing this, TVET institutions will learn up-to-date technologies. However, as
mentioned, TVET institutions should balance this type of training with basic technical educationand training, carefully considering the capacity of schools and broader benefits for students. In
addition, there are other measures that would increase interaction with enterprises such as hosting
company visits, organizing alumni meetings, and inviting guest lecturers from enterprises. Table 5compares measures taken by some leading TVET institutions in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam
for increasing partnership with enterprises

Table 5. Common Measures to Strengthen Links with Enterprises

Name of TVE schools

Country

SupportofforeignexpertRegularmeetingwithalumni

Short temcourses

Receivingordersfrom enterprises

Internship

Curriculum
Reviewmeeting withenterprises

SkilldemandsurveyEnterprises
Involvement: In
mangement

Penang Skill
Development Center (PSDC)

Malaysia

-

?

o

-

?

o

?

o

Thai-Nichi Institute ofTechnology (TNI)

Thailand

o

o

o

-

o

o

?

D

VSTTC/Vietnam - Singapore
Vocational College

Vietnam

o

?

o

-

o

D

D

-

HIC - JICA/ VJC

Vietnam

o

?

D

o

o

-

-

-

Vietnam - Gemany Training Center

Vietnam

o

o

o

-

?

D

-

-

Cao Thang TechnicalCollegeVietnam

-

o

o

-

o

D

-

-

Note
o: Used as a reular or main means or fully implemented
D: Used as a temporary means or partially implemented-: Not or seldom used?: Unknown

Source: Mori, Nguyen and Pham (2009)-19-

TVET institutions, who receive technical assistance from ODA projects, may use a foreign expert’s
network to develop links with enterprises in her or his country. While sampled TVET institutions
use common measures such as regular meetings with alumni, internships, and short-term courses,
one unique measure taken by HaUI is to receive the manufacturing orders from enterprises for jigs
and production equipment. By manufacturing the products, instructors and students can learn theactual quality standards of enterprises. On the other hand, although many schools intend to conduct
surveys on enterprise needs, most of them do not do surveys regularly but rather on an ad-hoc basis.
Several TVET institutions take advanced measures such as establishing curriculum review meetings
with enterprises and involving enterprises in the management of the schools. These are ideal
measures which may enable TVET institutions to directly reflect enterprise needs in the operationof the schools.

4.4. How to prove that students are “skilled”
The overall impact of the efforts made by TVET institutions should be measured by how manyskilled workers are provided for the market, but it is not easy to prove that students are skilled.
Currently, “skilled workers” in Vietnam means those who have received diplomas or training
certificates after completing requirements in TVET institutions. Nonetheless, many enterprises do
not really rely on such certificates as evidence of skills. How can TVET institutions prove that theirstudents are skilled? One way would be to carefully set up reliable and up-to-date skill certificates.
Skill certificates must be at international levels and recognized by enterprises; there is no use if noenterprises adopt those skill certificates. Therefore, it is important to involve enterprises inestablishing skill tests. Pilot skill tests may be tried in a field in which the demands of enterprises
are relatively high. For example, some Japanese mold and die producers urge their employees topass Japanese mold and die skill tests.

5. Reviewing the Survey Methods as Guidance for TVET institutions
In this section, we would like to review our survey methods to provide some practical guidance for
TVET institutions interested in conducting surveys on industrial human resource needs inenterprises in the future.

5.1. Formulation of survey questionnaire
A good survey questionnaire should be clear and concise. It should be understandable for everybody,
written with easy words, and it should not be too lengthy. These points may be well known, but
questionnaires still tend to use jargon and be lengthy, simply because people who conduct surveys
wants to gain as much information as possible, while respondents do not really care about thequality of survey results and want to minimize the time it takes to answer them. Therefore, it isnecessary to explore where there are points of compromise between the survey team and respondents. To do this, a trial survey was useful in our case. Before we officially distributed thequestionnaires, we conducted five trial surveys on enterprises. This enabled us to improve thequestionnaires by reducing jargon, reducing the number of questions, and anticipating frequently
asked questions. Answers for frequently asked questions were summarized in the brief guidance
document for answering the survey. Finally, the survey questionnaire was written in three languages:
Vietnamese for local enterprises; Japanese for Japanese enterprises; and English for other FDI-20-

enterprises. Despite these efforts, the questionnaire was still imperfect in several sections, as we
could not collect sufficient data on retraining and recruitment forecasts. The quality of answers inthose sections was not satisfactory, simply because respondents could not fully understand what
we wanted to know.

5.2. How to increase respondent ratio
A common problem for those who conduct surveys is how to increase the rate of response.
Surveyors tend to wonder why respondents do not answer even though the survey results would
eventually contribute to reducing their problems. On the other hand, respondents may often feel
doubtful about the purpose and impact of a survey. Our survey was not an exceptional case andthe response ratio remained low for a while after the questionnaires were sent by post and uploaded
to the website. Aside from the quality of the survey questionnaire, one reason for the low response
could be that enterprises feel tired of responding to many surveys. A general director of one
company said that it was impossible for researchers to get substantial information from a paper
survey and proposed that researchers should visit companies and listen to people’s voices directly.
In addition, he said that he has never received the results and analysis of a survey afteranswering it.
Basic measures to increase the response rate include formulation of a good questionnaire with atrial survey; combination of mailing and direct interviews; and making sure to send feedback fromthe survey results to respondents. In addition, another solution may be to utilize reliable organizations as intermediaries between TVET institutions and enterprises. Involvement of intermediateorganizations would give credibility to the survey. Vietnam-Singapore Vocational College in Binh
Duong Province received higher responses after getting cooperation from the management company
of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP)13. To give an example from another ASEAN country,Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) has strong links with the Japanese business associationin Bangkok who encourages their member companies to respond to the survey14.

5.3. Thematic and geographical scope of survey
A national-level survey on industrial human resources needs in a broad range of sectors may provide
insight into general trends and perceptions. However, it would be advisable for TVET institutions
to narrow the thematic and geographical scope, because these institutions generally have limited
resources. A national-level survey would be useful when national-level authorities want to know
general trends on industrial human resource needs, but it would be too costly and it would not givedetailed and practical information that TVET institutions could immediately use to guide theiractions. As we experienced, labor-intensive work including telephone and face-to-face interviews
are needed to collect detailed and useful information from enterprises. In addition, enterprises tend
to give detailed information to persons or organizations with which they have good, long-term
relationships. Furthermore, since industrial human resource needs differ very much by sector, survey
results may not provide useful information if the survey is conducted across many sectors.
Therefore, if the purpose of the survey is to get information that directly improves educational and13
14

Refer to Mori, Nguyen and Pham (2009) for further details.
Ibid.

-21-

training programs in TVET institutions, it would be more effective and efficient to conduct thesurvey only in selected locations and industrial sectors.

5.4. Who is an appropriate focal point in an enterprise
One difficulty we faced consistently was deciding whom we should interview in enterprises. In
general, we tried to contact managers of human resource departments in large companies andgeneral directors at SMEs. However, human resources issues are related to various departments
and it was rare that one person in an enterprise would have all the information we wanted. For
example, a human resources department may have recruitment information, including academic
background and performance, but they may not always have feed-back after new employees aretransferred to various departments. On the other hand, a manager of a production-related department
is the one who sees the performance of TVET graduates in daily operation, but she or he is not
usually concerned about the schools from which employees graduated. Finally, general directors
are often good for providing general overviews of human resources, including TVET graduates,
but they would not be able to provide very detailed information such as the skills TVET graduatesneed to have learned in schools. Unfortunately, there is no single answer to fit all enterprises.
Although it creates more labor-intensive work, interviewers should send questionnaires to either amanager of the human resource department or a general director and then should follow up by
calling enterprises and asking who should be a focal point.

6. Closing remarks
Despite all the challenges and difficulties, we feel that we have provided some informative andpractical information for improvement of TVET programs in Vietnam. The results show certain
tendencies of perceptions of enterprises of TVET programs and the needs of industrial humanresources in Vietnam. Some issues may be already known among enterprises and TVET institutions,but it should be useful to reconfirm them with quantitative data and qualitative information. In
addition, we hope to provide some useful tips for TVET institutions that intend to do quick surveys
on enterprises’ needs. Our survey utilized our limited time, manpower and financial resources tothe fullest. This means that many TVET institutions should be able to gain informative feed-backfrom enterprises without abundant financial resources or big consulting teams if they can get certain
professional advice and exchange information with each other. For small TVET institutions,working in a consortium or a group would be an option that could reduce operation costs.
Finally, we would like to emphasize that understanding enterprises’ needs is not the end of thestory; what is more important is how TVET institutions can absorb the findings in their educational
and training programs. Since enterprises’ needs vary by sector, ownership and even individual
enterprise, TVET institutions should have clear strategies based on their comparative advantages
and future visions, such as what their priority technical fields are and what kind of industrial humanresources they would like to supply to the market. They may be able to organize brain-storming
sessions to make strategies for using the survey results, but it would be desirable to have certain
thoughts or assumptions about their comparative advantages and future visions beforehand anddesign the survey to test or reinforce them. Also, TVET institutions should keep their strategies
focused but not too rigid. Since economic and industrial situations change quickly, it is suggested-22-that they have a management system to review the feasibility of strategy on a regular basis.

References
General Statistics Office (GSO). (2010). Statistical Yearbook of Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam:
Statistical Publishing House.
Mori, J., Nguyen, T. X. T. and Pham, T. H. (2009). “Skill Development for Vietnam’s Industrial
ization: Promotion of Technology Transfer by Partnership between TVET Institutions andFDI Enterprises.” in Yoshida, K. eds. The final report for the International Cooperation
Initiative on Cooperation in the Field of Skill Development Education and Economic
Development. Hiroshima, Japan: Hiroshima University.
Mori, J. (2005). “Development of Supporting Industries for Vietnam’s Industrialization: Increasing
Positive Vertical Externalities through Collaborative Training.” Master Thesis. MA, USA:
Fletcher School, Tufts University.
Nguyen, T. X. T. (2007). “Supporting Industries: A Review of Concepts.” in Ohno, K. eds. Building
Supporting Industries in Vietnam (vol.1). Hanoi, Vietnam: Vietnam Development Forum(VDF).
Vietnam Development Forum (VDF). (2006). Supporting Industries in Vietnam from the
Perspec tive of Japanese Firms. (VDF Policy Note No.2). Hanoi, Vietnam: Vietnam
Development Forum (VDF)-23-

ANNEX
Questionnaire
I. Company Overview
1. Name of company: ……………………………………………………………………………
2. Main product:
Main product

Description of product

Share in revenue (%)

1.
2.
3.
4.

3. Type of company
State-owned

PrivateForeign invested 100%)

Joint-venture

Joint-stock

4. Nationality of investors- Investor 1 name: .........…………………………….. % of share of capital: ………..
- Investor 2 name: ........ .……………………………… % of share of capital: ……….
- Investor 3 name: .........………… .…………………… % of share of capital: ……….
5. Year of establishment: ………………………………………………………………..................
6. Main customers:
Name of customers(optional)

Main product

Share in revenue (%)

1. Japanese companies in Vietnam
2. Other countries’ companies in Vietnam
3. Local Vietnamese companies
4.Export (Overseas customers outside Vietnam)
7. Number of employees: ……………persons
8. Turnover rate of employees: ….…%
9. Structure of employees:
9.1. By level:

9.2. By school (for technical workers only):

1. Foreign employees(- Japanese employees).............persons(………persons)Hanoi University ofTechnology.............persons

2. Vietnamese employees.............persons

Hanoi University ofIndustry (- Vietnam
Japan Center if any).............persons-24-2.1. Technical workers(Product designer, production engineers, machine
operators, etc.)- University
graduates- College graduates- Secondary graduates15 (including Vietnam
Japan Center)- Primarygradutes16
2.2. Non-technical staff(Admin, accounting,logistics, sales, non-technical production line
workers, etc.)(………..persons)(………..persons)(………..persons)(………..persons).............persons

Other universities(main ones):
1…………………
2. …………………
3. …………………
Other technical college/school:
1. …………………
2. …………………
3. …………………

…….persons…….persons…….persons…….persons…….persons…….persons.

II. Evaluation on Graduates of Vocational Training Schools/Programs in General (notonly VJC graduates, but all graduates from vocational training schools/programs)
How do you think about Graduates from Vocational Training schools/programs in Vietnam?
Note: “Vocational training schools/programs” include vocational training programs inside
universities or colleges, vocational colleges, provincial vocational training schools, vocational or
employment training centers, etc.
1. Working Attitude- Have good knowledge about 5S17
- Have good practice of 5S- Have good teamwork ability- Follow company rules- Follow operation standards (e.g. operation manual)- Follow the guidance of supervisors- Be independent at work
- Have willingness to self-improvement- Participate in “Kaizen”18 activities actively- Have good entrepreneurship (e.g. cultivate newcustomers, new products, and any new chance)
2. Technical Skills

Strongly Agree
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Strongly Disagree
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Those who graduate from vocational secondary schools, professional secondary schools, or colleges/universities that provide
technical education at secondary level. It takes 2 years to get this diploma.
16
Those who graduate from vocational training centers or other training institutions that provide technical training programs atprimary level. It takes 6 months or a year to get this diploma.
17
5S is a method for organizing a workplace, especially a shared workplace (like a shop floor or an office space), and keeping it
organized. It is a reference to a list of five Japanese words which include SEIRI (tidiness), SEITON (orderliness), SEISO (cleanliness), SEIKETSU (standardization), and SHITSUKE (discipline).
18
Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO
to the assembly line workers.
15

-25-

- Know how to read blueprints- Have good skill and knowledge of basic
technology- Please also evaluate the level of the following
detailed skills if they apply to your business:- Have good skills of machine metal processing

5
5

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5
5

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

(milling, machining, pressing, plating, heat
treatment, etc.)- Have good skills of forging- Have good skills of casting- Have good skills of assembling mold and die(grinding/polishing, assembling, etc.)- Have good skills of operating plastic injection
molding machines- Have good skills of electronic measuring- Other skills (please specify)…………………
- Other skills (please specify)…………………

- Learn how to use new machines quickly- Have good knowledge of quality control andassurance
3. General Evaluation- Technical and vocational training graduatessatisfy employers’ needs
Other comments:

III. Evaluation on Graduates of Vietnam Japan Center (Formally-known as the HICJICA Course) comparing with above section II
3.1. Do you have employee(s) graduated from Vietnam-Japan Center of Hanoi University of Industry?
Yes
No(If YES, please continue with the question 3.2., if NO, please go to Question IV on the page 5)
3.2. How do you think about Vietnam Japan Center’s graduates comparing with graduates fromother Vocational schools?

-26-Much bet- better/more Same as
ter/more than others others
than others

1. Working Attitude- Have good knowledge about 5S5- Have good practice of 5S
5- Have good teamwork ability
5- Follow company rules
5- Follow operation standards (e.g. operationmanual) 5- Follow the guidance of supervisors5- Be independent at work5
- Have willingness to self-improvement
5- Participate in “Kaizen” activities actively
5- Have good entrepreneurship (e.g. cultivate new5customers, new products, and any new chance)
2. Technical Skills- Know how to read blueprints
5- Have good skill and knowledge of basic
5
technology- Please also evaluate the level of the following
detailed skills if they apply to your business:- Have good skills of machine metal processingMuchworse/lessthan oth- worse/lessthan others
ers

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5
5
5

4
4
4

3
3
3

2
2
2

1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

(milling, machining, pressing, plating, heat treatment,etc.)- Have good skills of forging- Have good skills of casting- Have good skills of assembling mold and die(grinding/polishing, assembling, etc.)- Have good skills of operating plastic injection
molding machines- Have good skills of electronic measuring- Other skills (please specify)…………………
- Other skills (please specify)…………………

- Learn how to use new machines quickly- Have good knowledge of quality control andassurance
3. General Evaluation- VJC graduates satisfy employers’ needs
Other comments:-27-

IV. In-company Training/Education for new Graduates of Vocational Schools after
recruitment
4.1. In which subject (e.g. 5S, specific skills, etc.) and how long do you need to retrain thegraduates from vocational training schools/programs after recruiting them?

Subject

Time (hours/frequency)

1. 5S, Kaizen…

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

2. Business manners (following rules,…….hours, …….times/week, …….monthstandards, supervisor’s guidance…)
3. Basic technologies…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

4. Use of new machines…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

5. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

6. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

7. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

8. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

8. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

10. ………………………………

…….hours, …….times/week, …….month

4.2. Is there any difference between the in-company training/education for VJC’s graduates andthe ones for other graduates?
YesNo(If YES, please continue with the question 4.3., if NO, please go to Question V on the page 6)
4.3. What is the difference between the in-company training/education for VJC’s graduates andthe ones for other graduates?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...

V. Evaluation on the Capacity of Vocational Training Schools/Programs in Vietnam(including Vietnam Japan Center)
5.1. Have you ever visited any vocational training schools/programs in Vietnam?
Yes
No(If YES, please continue with the questions 5.2., if NO, please go to Question VI on the page 8)-28-

5.2. How do you think about the capacity of those vocational training schools/programs you visited?
a. Name of school:…………………………………………… Location: ………………………

- Have good facilities- Have good instructors- Have good curriculum- Have good practicing program- Have good internship program- Have good management- Have good advertising for itself- Have good activities to interact with firms(such as job fair, factory visits …)- The school/program often asks for our feedback
about its graduates- The school/program often asks us to provide
internship programs- The school/program often asks about our needsof graduates (quantitatively and qualitatively)

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

Other comments:b. Name of school:…………………………………………… Location: ……………………

- Have good facilities- Have good instructors- Have good curriculum- Have good practicing program- Have good internship program- Have good management- Have good advertising for itself- Have good activities to interact with firms(such as job fair, factory visits …)- The school/program often asks for our feedback
about its graduates- The school/program often asks us to provide
internship programs- The school/program often asks about our needsof graduates (quantitatively and qualitatively)
Other comments:-29-

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

c. Name of school:…………………………………………… Location: ………………………

- Have good facilities- Have good instructors- Have good curriculum- Have good practicing program- Have good internship program- Have good management- Have good advertising for itself- Have good activities to interact with firms(such as job fair, factory visits …)- The school/program often asks for our feedback
about its graduates- The school/program often asks us to provide
internship programs- The school/program often asks about our needsof graduates (quantitatively and qualitatively)

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

Other comments:

VI. Recruitment Forecast for Technical Workers
Please fill in the rough estimates of future needs for technical workers by required skills.
6.1. University/college graduates levels (unit: persons)
2009

2010

2013

Total demand for technical workers….....

….....

….....

Specific fields:
1. Machine metal processing (milling, machining, pressing,plating, heat treatment, etc.)
2. Forging
3.Casting
4. Assembling mold and die
5. Plastic injection molding
6. Production contro
7. Quality control and assurance
8.Others (please specify)…………………………
9.Others (please specify)…………………………
10. Others (please specify)…………………………
11. Others (please specify)…………………………
12. Others (please specify)…………………………

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

-30-

6.2. Secondary/primary graduates levels (unit: persons)
2009

2010

2013

Total demand for technical workers….....

….....

….....

Specific fields:
1. Machine metal processing (milling, machining, pressing,plating, heat treatment, etc.)
2. Forging
3.Casting
4. Assembling mold and die
5. Plastic injection molding
6. Production contro
7. Quality control and assurance
8.Others (please specify)…………………………
9.Others (please specify)…………………………
10. Others (please specify)…………………………
11. Others (please specify)…………………………
12. Others (please specify)…………………………

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....
….....

VII. Suggestions for Vocational Training Schools/Programs in Vietnam in GeneralDo you think it is better to provide training of following subjects at vocational training
schools/programs? Or is it more efficient to conduct those trainings in your companies?
At-school training

1. Working Attitude- Knowledge about 5S- Practice of 5S- Teamwork ability- Follow company rules- Follow operation standards- Follow the guidance of supervisor- Ability of independent working- Willingness to self-improvement- Concept of “Kaizen”- Promotion of entrepreneurship spirit
2. Technical Skills- How to read blueprints- Skill and knowledge of basic technology- Please also indicate the training needs for thefollowing detailed skills if they apply to yourbusiness:-31-

In-company training

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

5
5

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

- Machine metal processing (milling, machin-

5

4

3

2

1

5
5
5

4
4
4

3
3
3

2
2
2

1
1
1

5

4

3

2

1

5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1

5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1

ing, pressing, plating, heat treatment, etc.)- Forging- Casting- Assembling mold and die (grinding/polishing,assembling, etc.)- Operating plastic injection molding
machines- Electronic measuring- Other skills (please specify)………………
- Other skills (please specify)………………
- Quality control and assurance

3. Other Subjects- ………………………………………………
- ………………………………………………
- ………………………………………………
- ………………………………………………
Other comments:-32-