“The biggest obstacle for overcoming the skilled worker demand is to train what the labour market needs” stated Mr Huynh Van Tinh, Director of Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA) of Dong Nai province in his introductory speech to the workshop “Cooperative Training” on 12 April at Lilama 2 International Technology College (LILAMA 2).

To fill the skilled worker gap and strengthen the matchmaking process, DoLISA, together with LILAMA 2, and Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam, conducted the workshop on “Cooperative Training”. More than 50 representatives from TVET institutes and companies came together to discuss, how Cooperative Training can be implemented to ensure vocational training according to the needs of the labour market in the Dong Nai region.

Cooperative Training is a model of training in which TVET institutes and companies share the responsibilities for the development, delivery and assessment of training offers. Through Cooperative Training, companies get the workforce according to their needs and have lower recruitment costs, reduce the need of retraining and increase the loyalty of their staff. TVET institutes are utilising their infrastructure demand-driven, answering to the business sector’s needs. Young people strengthen their employability and their career chances. Last but not least, the state, taking into account the needs of the business sector, builds up the framework conditions to ensure economic growth and competitiveness.

As an international best practice, the German way of Cooperative Training, the so-called “Dual System”, was presented by Mr Peter Wunsch, Senior Technical Advisor of GIZ. Based on this reference, LILAMA 2 together with companies, sector associations and German experts developed occupational standards and training programmes for four technical occupations according to the Vietnamese needs. This process and the ongoing implementation of the training programmes were shared with the audience by Mr Le Quang Trung, Vice-Rector of LILAMA 2, and Mr Bach Hung Truong, Senior Programme Officer of GIZ.

Dr Le Van Hien, President of LILAMA 2, emphasised that copying the German system is not the way forward as the realities in Viet Nam are not the same as in Germany. Viet Nam, in fact, has to find its own way of Cooperative Training corresponding to the needs of the Vietnamese business sector. This requires a change of mindset towards a business sector needs orientation at the TVET institutes as well as an active role of the business sector in Cooperative Training.

The presentations were followed by a vital discussion including topics such as the qualification of In-Company-trainers, loyalty of graduate-trainees, incentives for companies to join Cooperative Training, PR for TVET and a structured coordination between the stakeholders.

Additionally, DoLISA Dong Nai announced two innovative initiatives to ensure the region stays competitive:

To promote TVET as a career option among young people and their peers, a website for career orientation will be established. Furthermore, to ensure the efficient cooperation of the TVET-stakeholders, DoLISA will bundle their resources and engagement in a TVET Council for Dong Nai. Altogether, as Mr Tinh stated, this day once more showed that “the workforce is a major asset for Dong Nai and TVET is the key to keep it that way!”

The Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.