New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews (left, first row) and Truong Anh Dung, general director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (right, first row) sign the cooperation agreement.

The agreement was signed between New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews and Truong Anh Dung, general director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

It is a framework for sharing best practices in vocational training policy, qualification frameworks and industry engagement.  

Under the agreement, New Zealand’s Government to Government Know-How (G2G) will contribute to Vietnam workforce improvement effort by facilitating partnerships between New Zealand’s government agencies, vocational institutions and research institutes with the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training as well as other relevant agencies and institutions in Vietnam. 

Ambassador Wendy Matthews said: “New Zealand’s Qualification Framework, established in 1992, was one of the first comprehensive qualifications frameworks in the world.”

“We continue to ensure that the system incorporates improvements and innovations into order to make sure that our vocational training and qualification systems best respond to the needs of our evolving industries,” she said.

“Our high-quality education system and expertise in vocational training make us well placed to deliver more joint initiatives focused on improving the quality of Vietnam’s vocational education system, so as to increase the competitiveness and productivity of the country’s workforce to meet global demands,” said Ambassador Wendy Matthews. 

General Director Truong Anh Dung, said: “Vietnam’s vocational education and training system has seen positive achievements over the last few years. General public and businesses’ perception on the importance of vocational training has been improved.”

There were more people choosing to study at vocational institutions, while graduates had higher chances of getting work job and a stable income.

“In the context of the digital economy, the knowledge-led economy, the 4th Industrial Revolution and international labour mobility trend, vocational training needs to speed up its renovation to improve training quality in order to meet the increasingly high demand for labour,” he said.

The year 2020 is an important year for New Zealand and Vietnam as the countries celebrate 45 years of friendship and diplomatic relations. 

“People-to-people links, particularly in the area of education, have been the bedrock of the relationship, and these links will continue to flourish when safe travel between our countries resumes,” he said.  VNS

International vocational training to be extended

Vocational training schools in Vietnam will continue to use curricula transferred from Australia and Germany until the end of 2020 and 2025, respectively, following the technical vocational education and training (TVET) reform plan.

Vocational training sector seeks to develop

Vietnam's vocational training sector is seeking to fix its long-term problems and develop into a strength.