Vietnamese University Introduces New Majors Due to High Demand

By on February 20, 2010 • Topics: Current Affairs

Vietnam is an emerging market with much potential for growth and to become a strategic trading partner with other nations regarding many different products. Many industries are on the rise in Vietnam. They, however, face the problem of an abundant but inadequately-trained labor force. This stagnancy in the development of the labor force can potentially be a major obstacle for Vietnam in becoming a developed nation.

The good news is that many Vietnamese universities are responding to the demand for skilled labor.

According to the assistant professor Huynh Thanh Hung of the Agriculture University in HCMC, “The decision of introducing new majors is the result of the talks between the university and the recruiting agencies. The reality of the market, according to the agencies, demands specialized labor where the companies do not have to waste time and effort to retrain the students.”

Also, Professor Nguyen Thanh Nam of the Polytechnic University of HCMC points out: “On average, every year, the schools in the South produce about 200-250 residential architects. However, the demand for such highly skilled and experienced architects has been consistently rising. Due to such demand, our school decided to introduce the new major of residential architecture, where we use current project plans to train the students.”

Professor Hua Minh Tuan from the Marketing University comments: “According to the survey conducted by the school, we realize that the weakest aspects of many large chain store is the retail section, due to lack of training for the workers. The reason is that management is not adequately trained. Therefore, we intend to train people in the aspects of economic decisions and business administration. The students will learn skills to assess customer behavior and customer service, in addition to reporting and evaluating the customer support base.”

The new majors introduced in different universities include:

-Agriculture University: Design of wooden furniture, Information Technology, Forestry, Economics – Management of Aquaculture, Biotechnology and Environmental Information Systems

-International University: Aquaculture, Food Technology, Finance and Banking

-University of Social Sciences and Humanities: Travel Management, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, and Spanish Studies.

-University of Technical Teaching: Telecommunication Engineering, Civil Engineering.

Courtesy of Thanhnien.com.vn

The Author: Neil Nguyen

Neil is a mechanical engineer who aspires to make his own robot so he no longer needs to do house chores. At UC Berkeley, Neil studied in South Korea and Japan where he did research on the post-war development processes of Japan and Vietnam.

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  • Brian

    Spanish studies! I can see the value of learning Spanish in America. Most high school students in CA probably took Spanish in high school and/or undergrad.. but is there much value in taking Spanish if you're planning on working in the Asian market..?

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=20395 Isabella Nga Lai

    That's amazing! Education is definitely worth investing in, especially for the future development and growth of the country.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=20395 Isabella Nga Lai

    Also, the Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam is growing immensely, and many expatriates are acquiring higher education. I can't wait to see the potential this group of future leaders have in influencing the development of Vietnam.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6001419 Brian Luong
  • isabellangalai

    I hope that Vietnam will focus more on Asian language studies. There is such a huge market to be tapped into!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1210726 Neil Nguyen Huu

    There are still many barriers to growth: it is not easy for a foreigner to teach in Vietnam, even when they only teach English. The fact that it takes more than 6 months to obtain a legitimate license to teach English is something bothersome to me. I hope that in the future, the opening of private universities in Vietnam by foreigners will not have to face lengthen processes. (btw, expat are considered foreigners)

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=20395 Isabella Nga Lai

    From my interaction with many Vietnamese-Americans directly affected by the war, I sense that they feel a strong reservation to helping students in Vietnam. This may be because many community members are not keen on helping people with possible affiliations to a political party that they may not like. I feel this may be a deterrent in many foreigners' willingness to help the country also. Maybe someone can enlighten me on whether or not politics is still a major factor in the matter? While OneVietnam Network may have no political inclination, I think we as a group cannot ignore that this may be a challenge? What do you think?

  • isabellangalai

    From my interaction with many Vietnamese-Americans directly affected by the war, I sense that they feel a strong reservation to helping students in Vietnam. This may be because many community members are not keen on helping people with possible affiliations to a political party that they may not like. I feel this may be a deterrent in many … See Moreforeigners' willingness to help the country also. Maybe someone can enlighten me on whether or not politics is still a major factor in the matter? While OneVietnam Network may have no political inclination, I think we as a group cannot ignore that this may be a challenge? What do you think?

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1226357 Vinh Dang

    Isabella, I think we should discuss your questions/concerns internally during our meetings or teleconferences.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000189801537 Stephen Cook Sr.

    That is a loaded question. Leaving politics aside, one aspect intrigues me: How has Vietnam changed, and how have VN communities overseas changed, in let's say 10 years? 20 years? My instinct is that both have changed, or shifted in some very real ways. Has there been drift, are ties among a new generation born overseas as strong as those of their elders in '90, or even 2000? Is the connection the same as elders who have heartfelt longing & memories of a homeland removed; whose eyes fill with tears meeting old neighbors, friends and classmates. Does Vietnam seem more foreign through the eyes of 2nd, or successive generations removed? From the perspective of VN, what has changed in conjunction. For instance, technology has had an enormous impact from 2000-2010. Access to a world outside is easy, and commonplace. Internet remains VN's best entertainment value at 2-3,000 dong an hour, and DV's are packed.Games, news, music, movies, chat rooms, yahoo, and yes even FB Are even politics as divisive as in '90, or 2000?