The Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) authority recently opened the brand new head office of the SHTP Training Center in Ho Chi Minh City. On this occasion, the Vietnam Economic News' Hong Anh spoke with SHTP Training Center director Dinh Thuy My Quynh about high technology workforce development in Vietnam.
What is your assessment of high technology workforce in Vietnam?
Technical and high technology workforce is something new here in Vietnam, in which Vietnam not yet has a strength. In Vietnam in general, high technology workforce is both insufficient and redundant. I say that because the country has a plentiful, young and devoted but less skilled workforce that is not yet highly capable of receiving and operating new technology and therefore not yet satisfies businesses' demands. Many businesses have to spend a lot of money on retraining people that they recruit.
Yet, there have been good signals as many leading businesses in Vietnam, such as Intel, Datalogic and Nidec, have recruited Vietnamese people for important positions especially in research and development activities. Apart from people residing in the country, Vietnam has attracted intellectuals who are overseas Vietnamese including students. This important source of grey matter needs to be further welcomed and encouraged to serve the development of the country's hi-tech industries.
Could you tell about the center's main operations? How many people will the center train each year after its new head office opens?
The SHTP Training Center provides work skill-related training for organizations, businesses and individuals operating in technical and high technology industries, offers supplementary training in foreign languages, teamwork skills and problem solution skills as well as short-term training courses that make learners satisfy businesses' demands and capable of understanding and operating advanced machinery and technology. Besides, the center provides manpower consultancy for businesses, assists students to work and work as trainees in businesses, works with training and research facilities in industrialized countries to provide high quality training of high technology workforce in Vietnam, and carries out research and cooperation activities.
Over the past five years, the SHTP Training Center opened more than 300 training courses that all attracted about 4,000 learners while working with institutes, training facilities and businesses to construct 10 textbook titles according to businesses' demands. We expected to attract an additional 2,000 learners each year after our new head office opens. Graduates from the center's courses would be recruited to work at the SHTP or recommended to businesses and organizations outside the hi-tech park.
What are the center's development plans?
We will work closely with the National University, Ho Chi Minh City, businesses in the SHTP and other experienced partners inside and outside Vietnam to provide intensive training programs. Notably, we will be implementing a training program of the high technology faculty, through which to contribute to the city's 'Workforce quality improvement' program and the development of a high technology workforce serving scientific and technological development in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and in Vietnam in general.
What is important to develop a high technology workforce that serves the purpose of making science and high technology a spearhead industry?
Cooperation between authorities, businesses and education and training facilities is important to improve high technology workforce quality. Authorities pave the way for attracting the talents, encourage study related to high technology and honor technical and high technology talents, while businesses and training facilities work with each other to make it possible for learners to approach new knowledge, provide training courses according to employers' demands and better satisfy the market's demand for high technology workforce in the future./.
