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Vietnamese young business people speaking at the Youth Forum “Startup and Employment” |
According to the overall report of the Central Committee of the HCMCYU, the youth organization has actively given advice to the Government on deploying social projects and programs in support of youths’ startups and employment. These included the project to provide vocational training and jobs for youths in the period 2008-15, a project to build youth settlements in the period 2013-20 and the program to mobilize youths to promote startups in the period 2016-21. Generally, policies, programs and projects on startups and employment have effectively supported youths in starting up their business and seeking employment in the past years.
However, leaders of the HCMCYU Central Committee at the forum emphasized that there have still been a number of shortcomings in issuing and implementing the policies for youths. Some policies focus only on the beneficiaries but have not defined responsibilities of the enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the policies on credit support have not worked effectively as some have no connections between loans for startups and supports for market accession while the others, including policies in providing vocational training for rural, disabled and unemployed youths, and policies on credit for students and exported laborers to work overseas, need to adjust the terms and amounts of credit packages.
Furthermore, the policies to support youths in working in remote and mountainous areas have not really attracted youths while actual resources to support youths to start up their business are still limited.
By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 24.3 million youths of working ages, accounting for 44% of the country’s workforce. However, only 20.7% of the rural youths have been trained, 47.2% of the rural youths have had unstable jobs in agriculture with unstable incomes, and 50.8% of the rural youths have worked for their own business or their families without regular pay. In fact, the Vietnamese youths represent two thirds of the country’s unemployed people.
In the face of the limitations and difficulties, the participants at the forum proposed solutions to enhance support for startups and create more jobs for youths.
Deputy-Secretary of the Dong Nai Provincial Committee of the HCMCYU Nguyen Thanh Hien suggested that the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs should provide comprehensive, up-to-date and exact information about the labor market for HCMCYU cadres so that they would quickly spread this information to all HCMCYU members.
Besides, there should be solutions removing barriers of administrative procedures to loans for youths to accelerate the implementation of youth startup support programs in the period 2016-21, to connect youth-driven startups, enterprises and State management agencies, to complete policies and legal documents relating to startups and employment, particularly policies on loans and credit.
Secretary of the HCMCYU chapter of the Banking Academy Nguyen Tien Hung noted that relevant agencies should draw up plans and orientations for the development of networks of management services advisors, consultants and providers in support of young startups.
Other delegates underscored the need for close coordination between businesses and schools in training as well as vocational and career guidance. According to them, the education and training sector should start vocational training from the junior-high school while organizing more tours for students to production facilities so that youths can shape their ideas on their future business and career plans.
All good opinions and ideas voiced by delegates at the forum were highly appreciated and noted by leaders of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. They promised to further study them and advise the Party, State and Government to complete the framework of policies and mechanisms to support youths in starting up their business effectively and sustainably.
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the HCMCYU Le Quoc Phong emphasized that two of the HCMCYU’s central missions are to support youths in starting up their business and seeking jobs, and to develop high-quality human resources. The Central Committee of the HCMCYU is investing in a communication system that can give various and up-to-date information about the labor market to youths nationwide. The communication system also has sets of criteria for common jobs, and consults and guides youths to select jobs suitable with their abilities and interests. The First Secretary released that the Central Committee of the HCMCYU is mobilizing more social resources to step up the support for youth startups.
Translated by Thu Nguyen