HÀ NỘI (VNS) –– Some 800 disadvantaged youth nationwide will get free training in job-ready skills by the local vocational training organisation REACH.

The programme has been launched under a renewed partnership between REACH, a Vietnamese non-profit organisation, and the global financial services firm J.P. Morgan.

The partnership, which was announced at the inauguration of REACH’s new training facility in Hà Nội’s Nam Từ Liêm District on Tuesday, targets reducing the unemployment rate among the Vietnamese youth. Last year, a pilot programme successfully trained 760 disadvantaged youth, which led to over 85 per cent landing stable jobs.

“We want to expand the opportunities available to Việt Nam’s youth, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, by scaling effective work readiness programmes,” Đỗ Thu Ngân, J.P. Morgan’s senior financial officer, said.

Established in 2004 by Plan International, the organisation now owns five training centres cross the country, including Hà Nội, Hải Dương Province, Huế, Đà Nẵng and Hội An cities.

The organisation has trained more than 12,500 students aged 18-30, with a focus on improving the skills of young people from Việt Nam’s most disadvantaged groups, including human trafficking and domestic violence victims, ethnic minorities, disabled and HIV/AIDS-affected youth.

“Students are taught job-ready skills for industries where employers are struggling to fill vacancies, including IT, hospitality, tourism, retail and beauty therapy,” REACH executive director Phạm Thanh Tâm said.

Nearly 85 per cent of the graduates have found meaningful employment and over 50 per cent received a promotion or salary increase in their first working year, she added.

Nguyễn Thu Hương, 28, a REACH graduate, owns her own small hair salon.

“REACH has opened new avenues for me. Before coming to REACH, I had done many different jobs, but they were unstable because I lacked the necessary skills. The organisation taught me a lot of useful things that served as my first stepping stones,” she said. –– VNS