Directive 24/CT-TTg on skilled human resources, helping raise productivity, national competitiveness

DIRECTIVE

Accelerating the development of occupationally skilled human resources, helping raise productivity and national competitiveness in the new situation^[1]

Over the past few years, the training, further training and preparation of occupationally skilled human resources have become a great concern of the Party and the State and witnessed positive changes in awareness, enrolment size and training quality and effectiveness. The system of legal provisions on vocational education has been step by step improved; the network of vocational education institutions has widely developed with diversified types and levels of training; the training quality has been increased; there are more and more models of high-quality training and training based on actual needs of businesses, thus contributing an important part to human resource quality improvement and national socio-economic development.

However, the size, structure and quality of occupationally skilled human resources still fail to meet socio-economic development requirements, especially amidst the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, automation, electronization and digitalization trends, effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and international integration.

In order to take advantage of the golden population structure and accelerate the development of occupationally skilled human resources, especially highly skilled ones, to raise skill levels of Vietnamese workers, contribute to raising productivity and national competitiveness in the new situation, the Prime Minister requests ministries, sectors and localities to concentrate efforts to do the following jobs:

1. Ministries, sectors and localities

a/ To continue effectively implementing mechanisms and policies on development of vocational education and development of occupationally skilled human resources; to enhance digital transformation and online training, and attach importance to provision of retraining and constant training in order to create vigorous changes in terms of size, quality and effectiveness of vocational education; to ensure that learners will acquire professional skills, digital skills, soft skills, and startup and foreign-language skills, etc., to match the demand of the labor market. To strive for the target that Vietnam’s vocational education will approach the level of ASEAN-4 countries by 2030 and of G20 countries by 2045;

b/ To properly perform the task of forecasting demands for building and updating open data on occupationally skilled workers for each field, occupation and level of training, especially new occupations and skills, and update data on a periodical basis; to enhance application of information technology in connecting supply and demand so as to improve effectiveness of training and employment of workers, including also those who return to the country after a period of working abroad, with a view to bringing into full play their strengths in labor and production activities and increasing incomes combined with ensuring sustainable employment;

c/ To boost information and communication activities to change social awareness and create social consensus about vocational education development as well as the position and role of occupationally skilled human resources in order to mobilize the participation and resources of the whole society, especially businesses, in development of occupationally skilled human resources serving national development;

d/ To direct the review, reorganization and re-arrangement of the system of vocational education institutions according to the objectives set in resolutions of the Party Central Committee and the Government; to quickly stabilize the organization, diversify investment resources, and improve operational quality and effectiveness of vocational education institutions after they are reorganized and re-arranged; to boost the development of autonomously capable and well performing vocational education institutions;

dd/ To increase the linkage among the three entities, namely the State, schools and businesses, in vocational education activities; to encourage businesses to recognize, recruit, employ and pay workers based on their practice skills and competencies; to recruit and employ workers who have been trained or possess national occupational skills certificates in accordance with law;

e/ To enhance multilateral and bilateral international cooperation in vocational education such as joint training; scientific research; academic exchange; training and further training of teachers and administrators; and school administration. To create a favorable environment for foreign investors to open high-quality vocational education institutions in Vietnam;

g/ To attach importance to the contents on development of vocational education and development of occupationally skilled human resources in sectoral and local development plans, programs, schemes and projects; to prioritize funds for vocational education within the total state budget expenditures for education and training and under sectoral and local programs and projects, proactively attracting and using ODA in accordance with law for investment in vocational education institutions, especially high-quality schools under planning and key sectors and trades as approved;

h/ To review and accelerate the implementation and management of vocational education-related programs and projects. To enhance direction, guidance, inspection and examination of, detect and timely handle violations in the field of vocational education.

2. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

a/ To formulate and submit to competent authorities for promulgation the system of regulations on management and evaluation of occupational skills; to formulate a scheme on digital transformation and online teaching in vocational education and a scheme on development of information technology application skills for workers; to review, amend and supplement the list of sectors and trades requiring workers with national occupational skills certificates;

b/ To apply the national qualifications framework for vocational education; to formulate and implement an international expert program in vocational education;

c/ To promulgate standards on personnel engaged in vocational training and occupational skills evaluation at businesses and organize training and further training based on promulgated standards; to promulgate the list of sectors and trades requiring trained workers according to a roadmap so as to standardize the workforce and prepare for international integration; to study and adopt solutions to increase the effectiveness of vocational education in adherence to businesses’ needs and automation trends;

d/ To build the capacity of the system of evaluation, recognition and grant of national occupational skills certificates; to strongly boost the organization of occupational skills contests at different levels; to study and form on a pilot basis sector or trade skills councils;

dd/ To propose the pilot provision of collegial training for lower secondary graduates; to continue and further extend the application of programs effectively transferred from foreign countries in the vocational education system;

e/ To organize final review and evaluation of programs and projects on development of vocational education and development of occupationally skilled human resources under the national target program for the 2016-2020 period; and make proposals for the subsequent period;

g/ To recommend the selection of a day as the “Vietnam’s Working Skills Day,” a national prize for outstanding learners in the vocational education system, and a program on occupational skills ambassadors; to adopt specific programs and plans to honor and spread the values of human resources with excellent occupational skills among young people and the society.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a/ To increase the capacity of forecasting and making statistics on skilled workers, specially future skills and new sectors and trades; to attach importance on contents on vocational education and occupational skills development in sectoral, regional, local and national development plans, programs and projects;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for summing up and assigning plans on medium-term and annual state budget funds and other funding sources to develop vocational education in conformity with socio-economic development strategies, human resources development strategies and balancing capacity of the state budget in each period.

4. The Ministry of Finance

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for summing up and allocating non-business capital for implementation of programs and projects in the field of vocational education according to regulations on budget management decentralization for submission to competent authorities for decision; to propose to the Government the application of appropriate rates for on-lending of foreign loans for vocational education development, especially for training of occupationally skilled workers;

b/ To review and propose to competent authorities for promulgation regulations on tax incentives for enterprises engaged in vocational education, ensuring consistency with the Law on Vocational Education and specialized laws and encouraging businesses’ involvement in vocational education activities.

5. The Ministry of Education and Training

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in, well implementing career orientation education and streaming of students in general education into different levels of vocational education under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 522/QD-TTg of May 14, 2019, and adopt mechanisms for evaluating and supervising these activities in localities;

b/ To promulgate regulations on upper secondary education knowledge volume and guide the teaching of upper secondary education knowledge and grant of certificates of acquisition of upper secondary education knowledge volume in vocational education institutions in the third quarter of 2020;

c/ To study and propose the improvement of mechanisms and policies to create favorable conditions for vocational learners who wish to transfer to higher education.

6. The Ministry of Information and Communications

To coordinate with the Party Central Committee’s Communication and Education Commission and related agencies in proactively and promptly providing information on the demand for occupationally skilled human resources to press and news agencies and the grassroots information system so as to accelerate information and communications activities, create changes in social awareness and create social consensus, and mobilize the participation of the whole society in the renewal and quality improvement of vocational education.

7. The State Bank of Vietnam

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, studying and applying credit policies to support the development of occupationally skilled human resources, especially for priority sectors and trades, and facilitate access to credit by vocational education institutions.

8. Provincial-level People’s Committees

a/ To attach importance to raising capacity of vocational education institutions and on high-quality training according to international standards to meet the demand for occupationally skilled human resources for socio-economic development in their localities;

b/ To adopt policies to support lower secondary graduates enrolled to different levels of vocational education (including support for expenses and tuition fees for learning at the upper secondary level) in conformity with local conditions and legal provisions so as to contribute to well implementing the Scheme on career orientation education and learner streaming orientations in general education during 2018-2025;

c/ To encourage businesses to employ a large number of occupationally skilled workers and vocational education institutions to connect closely with businesses; to study the establishment of a local division operating on a part-time basis to take charge of connecting vocational education with businesses so as to facilitate the latter’s participation in vocational education activities.

9. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Vietnam Association of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and socio-professional organizations

a/ To step up public communication and mobilization activities and create conditions to boost businesses to exercise rights and perform responsibilities in vocational education in accordance with the laws on labor, employment, and vocational education;

b/ To formulate programs on working coordination for each year or each period so as to enhance the connection between vocational education and businesses in conformity with their functions and tasks;

c/ To actively take part in the divisions in charge of connecting vocational education with businesses so as to support the latter in vocational education activities.

10. Businesses are encouraged

a/ To establish vocational education institutions or open in-service job training classes to improve occupational qualifications and skills for workers; to coordinate with vocational education institutions in providing training at different levels of vocational education and training under other programs in accordance with law;

b/ To assign qualified persons to participate in training activities and formulation of the list of sectors and trades, national occupational skills standards, output standards, training programs, and techno-economic norms in vocational education; and join school councils, boards of directors and sector or trade skills councils as appropriate;

c/ To organize occupational skills contests for workers, evaluate and recognize vocational skills and develop professional capacity for workers;

d/ To inform and report accurately and promptly on training and employment needs for each sector and trade and labor employment demands of businesses; to employ only occupationally trained workers or workers possessing national occupational skills certificates in certain sectors and trades in accordance with law.

11. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, mass associations, and the Vietnam Society for Learning Promotion shall pay attention to and arrange commendation and reward funds and adopt other incentives for workers and learners with outstanding achievements in vocational education activities.

12. Organization of implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall formulate their specific plans or programs of action for implementation of this Directive, and annually report implementation results to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs for summing up.

To assign the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to monitor, urge and periodically report the implementation of this Directive to the Prime Minister.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC