VietNamNet Bridge – Being proud of passing the university entrance exams after four years of study, many students face a bitter reality when they cannot find a good job. Even bachelors with excellent diplomas only wish to get a job.

Young people at an employment center in Hanoi.

Having graduated from the Medical College of Ninh Binh with an excellent degree, Thao was eager to bring her records to several state hospitals but she was not recruited. She then applied to private clinics.

Working for a Chinese clinic for two months, Thao resigned because of the language barrier, low salary and having to work at the weekend.

After several tries later, the girl decided to go home to produce incense with her family.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, from Ha Nam province, graduated from the Department of Tourism, University of Social Sciences and Humanities in June 2011 with a good degree.

But after two years, Thuy could not find a stable job. Late in 2012, Thuy and her brother opened a small restaurant selling fast food in a small alley in Cau Giay district, Hanoi).

Similarly, Pham Thi Lam, from Thai Binh province, graduated from the Hanoi College of Law in 2010 but she has been unable to find a job in the past two years.

Lam did not want to be back home on the advice of her family, so she opened a small café in a small alley on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Hanoi. But she got a loss and recently closed the shop and got married.

Vu Thi Minh, from Vinh Phuc province, graduated from the History Faculty of the Hung Vuong University in Phu Tho province in 2010 with an excellent degree. Failing to seek a job at schools in her hometown, she has become a cashier at a supermarket in Vinh Yen city.

Some of Minh’s friends while waiting for a good job continued their study at the MA degree and got marked.

The jokes in tears

Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyen, a former student of a private university, has worked at a private company for a year but she does not dare to submit her bachelor degree. "It’s ashamed. I have a bachelor degree majored in English but I cannot communicate well in English," Tuyen explained.

Huong, a college graduate, cannot type with 10 fingers and is not good at office skill, so she cannot find a job.

Vo Dinh Duong, graduating from the French Faculty of a college and also having a college degree in hotel management and tourism, he cannot design a tour or does not know how to introduce Vietnam tourism to French tourists.

Thai, a graduate of the University of Transportation, did not declare himself as a bachelor when he applied for a job at the North Thang Long Industrial Park because this company did not recruit those with university degrees. They prefer graduates of vocational schools.

Now the story about unemployed engineers who become taxi drivers, bachelors working as marketing officers or waiters and waitresses at cafes, restaurants or sellers at supermarkets is very common. The college degree is no longer a ticket to the beautiful future awaits students after graduation.

Alarmed fact

According to the latest report of the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province, by February 20, 2013, Thanh Hoa had nearly 25,000 unemployed graduates, including 45 postgraduates, 5,674 university graduates and 6,845 college graduates.

According to a report on Vietnam’s labor and employment of the General Statistics Office, by October 1, 2012, of the total of 984,000 unemployed people, 55,400 (5.6 percent) are college graduates and 111,100 (11.3%) are university graduates or post-graduates.

This figure, according to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), unemployment tends to increase, mainly in the group of urban youth.

Dr. Le Dong Phuong, from the Vietnam Institute of Education Science & Technology, higher education in Vietnam is developing so fast but the training quality is inversely proportional to the quantity.

The structure of training and the distribution of universities are also irrational, with over half of the total universities and colleges located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Many education experts also pointed out that the oversupply of graduates in the fields of economics, business management, finance, banking, etc. makes many graduates difficult to find a job.

The association between businesses and schools is loose, resulted in the diphase between training and the need. Furthermore, many schools only focus on quantity not quality of training.

While many graduates are still unemployed, according to the MOLISA, in 2011-2015, the country annually needs 1.86 million trained workers and approximately 2.18 million in 2016-2020,.

Phong Dang