Focusing on Human Resources Training, Quality Improvement

Improving the quality of human resources is one of the key tasks being promoted by Kien Giang province to meet business needs and market needs as well as local socioeconomic development goals.

Students from Kien Giang College gain practical experience through internships at local businesses

Boosting vocational training with job creation

According to statistics from the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Kien Giang province, every year, the province enrolls and trains 24,000 trainees and create jobs for 35,000 workers. In particular, the province concentrates on recruiting and training locally needed industries and professions, including tourism, restaurant - hotel, mechanical engineering, automobile, construction, aquacultural, digital competency, logistics and beauty care. This move aims to make Kien Giang a province of high life quality in the Mekong Delta and a national center of marine economy by 2030.

The resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress (2020 - 2025 term) states that “Developing and improving the quality of human resources” is one of three strategic breakthrough stage in promoting socioeconomic development. According to the resolution, the province has synchronously carried out solutions, from introducing mechanisms and policies to mobilizing resources to realize its goals.

Mr. Dang Hong Son, Director of the Kien Giang Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that, to quickly and sustainably develop vocational training to meet diverse labor market needs as well as socioeconomic development requirements in each stage, the department advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Decision No. 1686/QD-UBND dated July 5, 2022 on the Action Program for implementation the Vocational Education Development Strategy for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2045, and to launch a vocational training plan for rural workers, company workers and manufacturers.

Besides, the department strengthened information and communication on central and provincial documents; sped up decentralization of administration, autonomy and self-responsibility for vocational education facilities; worked out vocational education development plans and orientations.

At the same time, the agency reviewed and arranged the local vocational education network to increase work quality and performance; seriously invested in facilities, equipment and teaching aids to enhance the quality of modern vocational education; strengthened standardization of training programs and textbooks; prioritized vocational training for rural workers to shift labor structure from agriculture to non-agriculture; developed training and fostering plans to improve foreign language skills for teachers and students studying tourism, restaurant, hotel and other professions.

Furthermore, the department encouraged and facilitated organizations, individuals and businesses to participate in vocational education in potentially socialized professions to train high-quality human resources; bolstered business-school cooperation in training professions to untap local potential advantages, especially biotechnology, engineering technology, marine economy and services, and high-quality tourism.

Currently, the province has 31 vocational schools, including three colleges, seven high schools, 11 vocational - continuing education centers and 10 vocational education agencies. Training occupations are diverse, with 49 at college level and 65 at intermediate level. Key subjects include economics, social studies, engineering technology, tourism services, hotel and restaurant, healthcare and socio-culture.

In 2023, vocational schools enrolled and trained 24,792 students, fulfilling 103.3% of the plan (consisting of 1,664 college students, 3,459 intermediate students, 7,680 elementary students and 11,989 continuing students), thus raising the rate of trained workers to 72%, of which certified workers accounted for 51.5%.

Specially, to raise the rate of employed workers, the Kien Giang Employment Service Center and vocational schools strengthened career counselling and orientation for learners in accordance with social needs and future development trends; organized regular employment sessions, introduced the labor, employment and vocational training website at https://laodongvieclam.kiengiang.gov.vn to workers; promoted vocational training for workers before approaching foreign labor markets; arranged free educational funding for all workers from poor households as directed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

As a result, in 2023, Kien Giang province created jobs for 36,850 workers, equal to 105.3% of the full-year plan and up 0.1% year on year, including 19,803 local workers, 17,047 migrant workers and 560 Vietnamese people sent to work overseas under employment contract.

Actively seeking solutions to difficulties

Director Dang Hong Son said, despite many important results, vocational education and human resource training, especially high-quality human resources, still confronted obstacles.

Specifically, communications on vocational education are not carried out regularly and are not highly effective. The scale of vocational training enrollments increases but intermediate and college levels training still accounts for a low proportion. The cooperation between vocational schools and businesses is shallow. Worker training support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not very attractive to local companies to take part in.

On the other hand, businesses and employers have not focused on determining their employment needs with business development requirements, lacked interest in encouraging workers to improve their knowledge and qualifications, and lacked additional training plans to maximize their employee capabilities.

In the coming time, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will actively work with relevant agencies, localities, and vocational schools to effectively carry out annual vocational training plans to stabilize and supply workers for businesses. In particular, the department will regularly collect information about labor recruitment demands of local companies to direct vocational schools to work out training plans to match companies' needs; enhance innovations and improve operational quality of the Kien Giang Employment Service Center, especially through employment exchanges and mobile employment sessions, to connect labor supply and demand; encourage organizations and individuals to participate in career counseling job placement.

For vocational education institutions, especially intermediate schools and colleges, it is necessary to focus on reform diverse training contents and methods; promote coordination and cooperation between vocational education institutions and businesses in job training and creation in demanded training.

By Nguyen Bach, Vietnam Business Forum