Decree 308/2026/ND-CP vocational education policies and enterprise human resource training funds

DECREE

Detailing a number of articles of the Law on Vocational Education regarding the State's policies towards enterprises and enterprises’ human resource training funds

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government No. 63/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Vocational Education No. 124/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law No. 89/2025/QH15 on the State Budget;

Pursuant to the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation No. 93/2025/QH15, which was amended and supplemented by Law No. 133/2025/QH15 and Law No. 148/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law No. 06/2022/QH15 on Emulation and Commendation, which was amended and supplemented by the Law No. 06/2026/QH16;

Pursuant to the Law No. 148/2025/QH15 on Digital Transformation;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Vocational Education regarding the State's policies towards enterprises and enterprises’ human resource training funds.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree details policies to support and encourage enterprises to participate in vocational education activities; subjects, contribution sources and rates and expenditures of enterprises’ human resource training funds as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 32 and Clause 2 Article 35 of the Law on Vocational Education.

Article 2. Subject of application

1. This Decree shall be applied for the following subjects:

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and cities;

b) Enterprises established, organized and operating under Vietnam’s law;

c) Institutions conducting vocational education activities, and other agencies, organizations and individuals involved in the management and use of state funding for supporting enterprises in vocational education and enterprises’ human resource training funds.

2. Enterprises, institutions conducting vocational education activities, agencies, organizations and individuals in the fields of national defense and security shall be subject to this Decree. In case there are specific provisions in the fields of national defense and security, implementation shall comply with such specific provisions, ensuring conformity with the particularities of national defense and security.

Chapter II

THE STATE’S POLICIES TOWARDS ENTERPRISES

Article 3. Principles for management and use of finances and assets for implementation of the State’s policies towards enterprises

1. Funding for implementing the State’s policies towards enterprises shall be allocated from the state budget in accordance with the current budget decentralization and from other lawful funding sources in accordance with law regulations.

The State encourages localities to prioritize the allocation of resources to support enterprises in providing elementary-level training for vulnerable persons; and training in priority disciplines and occupations or disciplines and occupations that are difficult to be socialized according to local socio-economic development requirements.

2. The management and use of funding and assets for implementation of the State’s policies towards enterprises must ensure the proper purposes, subjects, regimes, standards and norms; thrift, publicity, transparency and fairness, and shall be subject to inspection and supervision by state management agencies at all levels in accordance with the law regulations on the state budget, the law on management and use of public assets and relevant laws.

3. Funding from the state budget shall comply with the law on the state budget, the law on science, technology and innovation, the law on digital transformation, the law on task assignment, order placement or bidding, and relevant laws.

Article 4. Encouraging enterprises to cooperate with institutions conducting vocational education in research and application of science and technology, innovation, technology transfer, and acceleration of digital transformation and green transition in vocational education and vocational skills development

1. Enterprises are encouraged to cooperate with institutions conducting vocational education activities in carrying out the following activities:

a) Cooperating in research and application of science and technology, innovation, technology transfer and updating of new technologies serving training activities;

b) Participating in formulating, reviewing and proposing updates to lists of training disciplines and occupations; training programs, learning outcome standards, coursebooks, digital learning materials and training methods suitable to enterprises’ labor demands, labor market demands and socio-economic development requirements;

c) Investing in, financing, sharing, exploiting and using jointly physical foundations, training equipment, laboratories, practice workshops, digital platforms, digital learning materials and conditions for ensuring training quality;

d) Organizing training, placing orders for training, restraining and training for improvement of occupational skills associated with enterprises’ labor demands and labor market demands;

dd) Receiving teachers, pupils and students for visits, practice and apprenticeship at enterprises; assigning experts and professionally qualified workers to participate in teaching, guiding practice and apprenticeship, providing professional development for teachers and updating new technologies;

e) Participating in assessment of learning outcomes, occupational skills, learning outcome standards and activities for training quality assurance and accreditation;

g) Supporting the incubation of startup ideas; providing consultancy, mentoring and experience sharing for pupils and students in startup and innovation activities; granting scholarships and providing training expense support for learners;

h) Organizing training and retraining of digital skills, green skills and new occupational skills; providing training and guidance on career change and improving capacity to meet the requirements of digital transformation, green transition and sustainable development;

i) Implementing cooperation activities to meet human resource development demands, labor market demands and socio-economic development requirements.

2. Enterprises cooperating with institutions conducting vocational education activities are entitled to support and incentive policies in accordance with the laws on science, technology and innovation, digital transformation, green transition, education, training and development of human resources, and relevant laws.

3. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors in, guiding the implementation of the coordination mechanism between enterprises and institutions conducting vocational education activities for carrying out the activities specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 5. Honoring and commending enterprises with outstanding contributions

1. Enterprises with outstanding contributions to vocational education activities and occupational skills development shall be considered for honoring and commendation. The annual distribution by an enterprise of its human resource training fund and use of at least 70% of the annual fund for education and training activities constitute one of the criteria considered by the State for honoring and commending the enterprise.

2. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in, guiding criteria and standards for enterprises to be honored and commended according to its competence.

Based on the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training, central and local ministries, agencies and organizations shall decide on organizing the consideration for honoring and conferral of titles and awards.

3. Forms, competence, order and procedures for consideration for honoring and commendation shall comply with the law on emulation and commendation.

Article 6. Provision of training expense support for enterprises providing elementary-level training for vulnerable persons; training in priority disciplines and occupations or disciplines and occupations that are difficult to be socialized

1. Support for providing elementary-level training for vulnerable persons shall be provided to the subjects specified in Article 2 of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 46/2015/QD-TTg dated September 28, 2015, prescribing policies on support for elementary-level training and training of under 03 months, Clause 3 Article 15 of the Government’s Decree No. 238/2025/ND-CP dated September 3, 2025, defining the policies on tuition fees, tuition fee exemption, reduction and support, support for study costs, and service charges in the field of education and training, Article 25 of the Government’s Decree No. 338/2025/ND-CP dated December 25, 2025, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Employment regarding employment creation support policies, regulations on vocational education and employment, and relevant laws.

2. Support for training in priority disciplines and occupations or disciplines and occupations that are difficult to be socialized shall be provided via free training for enterprises’ workers at institutions conducting vocational education activities.

a) Determination of training demands

Based on the list of priority disciplines and occupations or disciplines and occupations that are difficult to be socialized issued by the Ministry of Education and Training; socio-economic development strategies and plans; local human resource demands and labor market demands, provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on lists of disciplines and occupations eligible for training support in their localities in conformity with fund-balancing capacity of the local budget and practical conditions.

Based on their development orientations and demands for training disciplines and occupations, enterprises shall prepare lists of workers who have entered into labor contracts with the enterprises in conformity with the lists of disciplines and occupations eligible for training support in their localities and the standards and conditions of the registered disciplines and occupations, and send such lists to provincial-level specialized agencies.

Based on enterprises’ training demands and the lists of disciplines and occupations eligible for training support, provincial-level specialized agencies shall review, consolidate plans, types, forms and funding for training support and report to provincial-level People’s Committees on them for approval, in conformity with local socio-economic development conditions, ensuring the proper objectives, thrift and effectiveness.

b) Contents and methods of providing support

Training support (excluding meal allowance, cost-of-living expenses and travel expenses) for workers in priority disciplines and occupations or disciplines and occupations that are difficult to be socialized shall be provided in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP dated April 10, 2019, prescribing the assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding for provision of public products and services covered by state budget funds for regular expenditures, the Government’s Decree No. 214/2025/ND-CP dated August 4, 2025, detailing a number of articles of, and measures to implement, the Bidding Law regarding contractor selection, and relevant laws on the assignment of tasks, placement of orders, or bidding.

c) In addition to the policy specified at Point b Clause 2 of this Article, based on demands, socio-economic development conditions and local budget-balancing capacity, provincial-level People’s Councils shall decide on contents of support for workers who have entered into labor contracts with enterprises and participate in training, in conformity with the particularities of the training disciplines and occupations.

3. The preparation of estimates, management, use and finalization of funding for training support for enterprises shall comply with the law on the state budget and relevant laws.

Chapter III

ENTERPRISES’ HUMAN RESOURCE TRAINING FUNDS

Article 7. Establishment, subjects, contribution sources and rates of enterprises’ human resource training funds

1. Enterprises may choose and decide to establish their human resource training funds according to their needs in order to ensure that their education, training and human resource development activities are conducted regularly and continuously and meet their production and business requirements.

2. Subjects of establishment of enterprises’ human resource training funds: enterprises established under Vietnam’s law.

3. Contribution sources and rates of enterprises’ human resource training funds:

a) Contributions to enterprises’ human resource training funds from their after-tax profits. Annual contribution rates shall be decided by enterprises in conformity with their approved annual human resource training demands and plans;

Particularly for a state-owned enterprise, the annual contribution rate to its human resource training fund must ensure that the total value of the portions of the fund sourced from its after-tax profits does not exceed 01% of after-tax profits, including the unused portion of the fund sourced from its after-tax profits carried forward from the preceding year (if any).

For an enterprise with 100% of the charter capital held by the State, the allocation of after-tax profits and annual distribution to the fund shall comply with Article 29 of the Government’s Decree No. 366/2025/ND-CP dated December 31, 2025 on the management and investment of state capital in enterprises.

For an enterprise in which the State holds more than 50% but less than 100% of the charter capital, the allocation of after-tax profits and annual distribution to the fund shall comply with Article 31 of the Government’s Decree No. 366/2025/ND-CP dated December 31, 2025 on the management and investment of state capital at enterprises.

For an enterprise being a credit institution, the allocation of after-tax profits and annual distribution to the fund shall comply with the law on credit institutions.

b) Lawful donations from domestic and foreign individuals and organizations.

Article 8. Expenditures, management, use and accounting of enterprises’ human resource training funds

1. Expenditures of enterprises’ human resource training funds:

a) Providing training and development of skills for enterprises’ workers and supporting enterprises’ workers in learning and improving their professional qualifications under Point a, Point b Clause 1 Article 35 of the Law on Vocational Education, including: Costs paid to teachers, learning materials, equipment used for vocational education activities, practice materials, and other expenses supporting learners; training costs of the enterprise for employees recruited to work at the enterprise; and costs for training, retraining, and professional development for employees currently working at the enterprise; expenses for occupational skills assessment and competency assessment according to the enterprise’s standards or national occupational skills standards;

The activities of education, training, retraining, and professional development for workers specified at this Point must be detailed in one of the following documents: the labor contract, the collective labor agreement, or the financial regulations of the enterprise;

b) Providing donations for vocational education institutions that cooperate with the enterprises under Point c Clause 1 Article 35 of the Law on Vocational Education, including: Providing donations for vocational education institutions in accordance with the law on vocational education, provided that such donations are not made for capital contribution or share purchase in these institutions; providing donations for physical facilities serving teaching, learning and activities of schools; providing donations for schools’ regular activities; providing donations for competitions in subjects taught at schools in which the contestants are learners; providing donations for the establishment of learning promotion funds in accordance with the law on education and training; providing donations for the development of training programs and coursebooks according to orders placed by enterprises.

2. The management and use of enterprises’ human resource training funds (if any) must be provided for in the charters or regulations of the enterprises.

3. The accounting of enterprises’ human resource training funds shall comply with the law on accounting.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 9. Responsibility of implementation

1. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors in, guiding the implementation of Clause 3 Article 4, Clause 2 Article 5 and Clause 2 Article 6 of this Decree.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, reporting to competent authorities for consideration and decision on funding from state budget (if any) for implementation of the policies specified in this Decree in accordance with the law on the state budget.

3. People’s Committees of provinces and cities shall organize the implementation of the contents specified at Point a Clause 2 Article 6 of this Decree.

4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, and chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall direct, guide, inspect and supervise their subordinate agencies in organizing implementation in accordance with regulations.

Article 10. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on August 05, 2026.

2. In case legal normative documents referred to in this Decree are amended, supplemented or replaced by new legal normative documents, such new documents shall apply.

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall implement this Decree.