Firms help schools to train students

A class works out at the HCM City College of Waterway Transport. Enterprises will work with schools to help graduates find jobs. — VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

HCM CITY (VNS)— Co-operation between enterprises and schools in training has helped university graduates get jobs, but the companies that hire them often do much of the training.

At a meeting with the press yesterday in HCM City, Phi Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of HCM City Computer Association, said that increased collaboration between schools and businesses was being carried out to increase graduates' professional knowledge and working skills.

Many graduates do not meet the requirements of companies, according to Tuan.

A report from the Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information's shows that only half of all graduates last year had jobs related to their fields studied during university.

This imbalance is caused by a lack of communication between the business community and universities, Tuan said.

The working capacity of graduates is good if they are given training by their companies. But the best way to do this would be for companies to work with universities on the kinds of training that are needed.

Training co-operation between enterprises and schools has become more frequent in recent years.

Yesterday, the HCM City Computer Association, HCM City Communist Youth Union and Ispace-College of IT Vocational Education described the implementation of a programme that connects university enrolment with recruitment.

Under the programme, many enterprises like Dinh Thai Phong Co.'s Trend Micro distributor, Information Power Link Corporation, An Phat Co. Ltd's Draytek, a broadband equipment distributor, and Micro Game Corporation signed an agreement on training students.

The students are then hired by the company if they pass the courses. Technical skills and company work culture, in addition to basic knowledge required by the Ministry of Training and Education, are topics that are taught during the training.

Nguyen Dinh Quoc Tu, CEO of the Information Power Link Corporation, said the programme had helped the company save time and money.

When recruiting one new employee, it takes at least two months for them to learn about the working culture and technology, according to Tu.

Cao Quoc Thinh, marketing executive of Dinh Thai Phong Co. Ltd, said that the programme had helped his company attract candidates suitable for vacant positions.

Le Vi Dong, deputy head of the An Phat's Draytek broadband equipment distributor, said the training allowed the students to learn about the equipment that his company provides. This has led to less working pressure for the company's customer-assistance service.

Tuan said he hoped that the programme would attract more training institutes as well as enterprises. — VNS