BẾN TRE — The number of students attending vocational training courses in the southern province of Bến Tre has been on the rise since 2015, indicating that people are increasingly interested in gaining work skills to compete in the internationally integrated economy.

The information was released by Trần Anh Dũng, director of the Vocational Training Division under the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA).

His division estimates that the province had more than 7,700 vocational trainees in 2015, just over 8,500 trainees in 2016 and 9,470 last year.

For the first time in 2017, the number of people enrolling in vocational training centres amounted to 92 per cent of the figure the province had aimed for.

Most of the trainees studied for careers in mechanics, automobile technology, electricity and garments.

More than 90 per cent of the trainees can find jobs after the training, according to the provincial DOLISA.

Dũng said that since last year, vocational training centres in the province have focused on providing education for careers that currently have large numbers of job openings.

The centres also partnered with high schools to give vocational consultancy and guidance to students, and worked with enterprises to create jobs for graduates of the centres.

Võ Thành Phước, standing principal of the Bến Tre Vocational Training College, said that the electronic technology department had a particularly strong job placement record.

In 2012, only about 60-70 per cent of the trainees could find jobs after graduation, but now the figure stands at 95-97 per cent.

The college worked out agreements with several companies in HCM City to take in trainees during a trial period after graduation.

This year, vocational centres in the province are scheduled to enroll 10,500 people to train for careers in nursing, aquatic product processing, animal breeding, animal health and mechanics.

Director Dũng said that to ensure that trainees could find jobs after graduation, close cooperation between vocational centres and businesses is needed. — VNS