HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội ranked first in the national professional skill test this year with 15 gold medals, two silver medals and 11 bronze medals.

The results were announced on Sunday evening by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), which organised the test in collaboration with five related ministries.

The skill test was organised from May 13-20 with 520 contestants from 56 provinces and cities, who expressed their skills in six different fields.

After the test, the organisers awarded 63 gold medals, 15 silver medals, 71 bronze medals and 154 consolation prizes to the contestants.

HCM City ranked second with eight gold medals, one silver medal, six bronze medals and 13 consolation prizes.

The organisers will choose the most outstanding candidates to form a national team to join the ASEAN professional skill test, which will be held in Thailand from August 26 to September 4 this year. The team will also participate in the world professional skill test, which will be held in Russia from August 22-27.

“We should equip our youths with a strong career so that they have a stable foundation to start their lives,” said Đào Ngọc Dung, minister of MoLISA.

He praised more than 500 candidates for their efforts to improve their professional skills and increase work productivity.

It contributed an important part to the country’s education reforms, he said.

He added that the skill test was a good opportunity for the contestants, including the ones who did not win any prize, to learn from the experience and improve their skills.

According to him, Industrial Revolution 4.0 has created a lot of opportunities and challenges and the ones caught up with opportunities are likely to go faster and farther and be more successful.

One of the most important duties of MoLISA this year is to improve the quality of vocational training. The goal is to get more students to study vocational training and earn better after graduating.

Dung said there were two important points to keep in mind: first, students after graduating from vocational training schools will have to study further. Second, parents should encourage their children to study vocational training and grow in their career.

According to MoLISA, as many as 42 per cent of the youths joined vocational training schools in Australia last year, while more than 60 per cent of the youths in Singapore enrolled in vocational training schools. — VNS