Under the umbrella of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by  the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) representations in Vietnam in June 2019, the Vietnamese-German Programme “Reform of TVET in Vietnam” and the ILO join forces in supporting the Vietnamese Government, particularly the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in the reform of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. Within the scope of the cooperation, the two parties provided advice concerning the revision of the Labour Code, particularly with reference to Chapter 4 on TVET and occupational skills development. Significant recommendations, particularly in respect to the involvement of the business sector in TVET, have been reflected in the amendment of the Labor Code which was passed by the legislature with approval of around 90% of the National Assembly’s deputies on 20 November 2019.

“Key changes in the Labour Code amendment create a legal basis to facilitate further engagement of the business sector in TVET and the scaling up of the cooperative training approach  to improve the demand-orientation, quality and competitiveness of Vietnam’s labour force”, says Deputy Director General of DVET Dr. Dung.

First, under the amended Labour Code, the engagement of employers in VET is not only limited to training for a company’s employees but companies can extend training to the labour force in general. This includes workers participating in initial and further training courses, practical apprentices receiving up to three months practical skills training in companies and trainees enrolled in training programmes at TVET institutes.

Second, the amended Labour Code for the first time stipulates explicitly that employers are encouraged to jointly organise cooperative training with TVET institutes in accordance with regulations under the VET law. The amended Labour Code thereby allows for the development of sub-laws providing comprehensive regulations regarding the legal relationship between the three parties: TVET institutes, companies and trainees.

Third, the amended Labour Code creates a legal basis for the dual training approach by allowing employers to recruit trainees for training in companies and TVET institutes at the same time whereby the duration of the traineeship is determined by the formal training programme the trainees are participating in. In 2017, MoLISA already regulated two forms of cooperative training between TVET institutes and enterprises, order placement and cooperative training with a maximum of 40% training in the company, in Circular 29/2017/TT-BLD-TBXH. However, in both cases, recruitment of trainees is the sole responsibility of the TVET institutes without taking into account a legal relationship between employers and trainees.

In addition, under the amended Labour Code, employers are encouraged to actively participate in activities of occupational skills councils, including forecasting the demand for skilled labour, developing occupational skills standards and organising the assessment and recognition of occupational skills.

As new mechanisms for employers to participate in TVET are encouraged by the amended Labour Code, in a consultative process, DVET will develop specific legal guiding documents to operationalise cooperative training and skills councils. This is a great chance for all stakeholders to participate in the definition of roles and responsibilities in a demand oriented TVET system in Vietnam, which GIZ will further support.

The full Labour Code amendment can be found at: http://bit.ly/2rjUxvQ