The
project operates in partnership with vocational training schools as well as a
number of companies and agencies.
IECD and the colleges sign partnership agreements on cooperation and development. Photo: thanhuytphcm.vn
Seeds
of Hope is being run on a trial basis under the European Institute for
Development Cooperation (IECD) in Vietnam at two sites: Ho Chi Minh City Technical and
Economic College (HOTEC) and Thu Duc College of Technology (TDC).
It
not only helps create more opportunities for students in career development but
also enhances domestic and international integration.
Vietnam
continues to have a high rate of unemployed young people, while vocational
training remains unattractive to many students, creating a mismatch with the
labor market despite strong demand, especially in the electricity sector.
Seeds
of Hope targets people aged 15 to 25. The support includes either a
three-year-long vocational training program or short training modules on
renewable energies and energy efficiency.
It
aims to improve career prospects for about 1,400 young people by 2019.
IECD
experts will help develop standards and content for teaching and training
programs.
Students
at the two schools will be exposed to a quality learning environment that will
allow them to develop occupational skills and life skills for integration into
the labor market.
Speaking
at the launch ceremony, Pham Ngoc Thanh, Deputy Chairman of the city’s
Department of Education and Training, said the city, which has 77.5 percent of
trained workers, has set a target to have at least 85 percent of trained
workers by 2020.
“Seeds
of Hope will help meet the demand of the city’s plan on raising the quality of
laborers,” he said.
He
said the project would significantly improve the quality of vocational training
for Vietnamese students and help promote cooperation between schools and
enterprises as well as contribute to reducing the unemployment rate of young
people in the city.
Nguyen
Thi Ly from the TDC thanked the IECD, experts and companies for their
contribution to the project and said she hopes to receive more support from the IECD,
companies and authorities in the near future.
At
the ceremony, partnership agreements in cooperation and development between
IECD and two of the colleges were signed.
Source: VNA