The Ministry of Information and Communications has built the “Early acceleration to make Vietnam a powerful ICT nation" project in 2009. The biggest goal of the project is to bring Vietnam to the Top 70 ICT countries in the world in 2015. In the information and communication technology (ICT) development orientation, the human resources development is identified one of the most decisive factors to the industry development in Vietnam.
Focusing on human resources development
Not until the project was launched was the human resource development underlined. In 2007, the Government attached much importance to develop human resources for the ICT industry. Accordingly, the development of ICT human resources (workers at telecomm and IT companies, personnel for IT applications, personnel for IT, electronics and telecom training, and users of IT applications) is the key to the IT application and development. IT human resources development must ensure quality, consistency and rapid restructuring to employ more high-level personnel and to boost the national IT capacity. IT human resources development must be closely linked with the process of educational and training reform, especially higher education. Therefore, the Government invested in IT training at large schools such as the Vietnam National University of Hanoi and Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City.
The Government targets to have 250,000 IT professionals by 2015, with 50 percent qualifying regional standard, and 530,000 applied IT engineers. According to Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, the content of this plan has expressed “society-based training” to a scientific and technological field like IT. According to forecasts, the world will lack 10 million IT engineers by 2015. If Vietnam can supply IT human resources, it will be a great advantage. This requires Vietnam to invest in IT education more practically and realistically.
Mr Truong Gia Binh, President of FPT Corporation, said: The best way should start in reality. Thus, it is necessary to define how a strong ICT nation is. Binh noted that human resources training is urgently essential since only new human resources are capable of acquiring new technologies, bringing them into production, participating in international labour markets, then creating and forming a key economic sector. At that time, world-leading corporations (both hardware and software) will come to Vietnam.
Industry development gathers speed
On September 22, 2010, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung officially approved the “Converting Vietnam into a powerful ICT nation” project. Two important milestones underscored in the process of project implementation are 2015 (Vietnam will lock in a place the Top70 ICT countries and territories in terms of in ICT development) and 2020.
One of main objectives is to make ICT a spearhead economic sector with annual growth doubling or trebling the country’s GDP growth. At the same time, human resources will be developed to international standards and telecom infrastructure broadband will reach nationwide. The Government plans to invest more than VND2,347 billion, sourced from the state Budget, to make the project happen.
As regards IT industry, the project aims to bring Vietnam into the group of 15 largest software producers on the globe by 2015 and the group of 10 by 2020. Specifically, the software industry and IT services must be the fastest-growing economic sectors in the country.
Besides, by 2015, IT companies will be able to design and manufacture several hardware and parts to replace imports while accelerating research and production of integrated circuits. By 2020, Vietnam will set up several ICT research and development institutions to research high-tech products.
The project points out that 30 percent of IT students will be qualified for working in international environments when they graduate by 2015. The rate will be raised to 80 percent by 2020 when Vietnam has 1 million IT workers. The internet user - to - population ratio will reach 50 percent in the next 5 years and 70 percent in the next 10 years. To speed up, the project will support large ICT corporations to expand the market, aiming to help the industry generate US$10 billion of revenues in 2015 and US$15 billion in 2020.
With reference to telecom sector, Vietnam will basically complete the coverage of broadband connections in all communes and wards nationwide and expand broadband mobile coverage to 85 percent of population to secure the 65th position on the broadband ranking of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2015. By 2020, the country will improve broadband networks in most villages, and cover broadband mobile coverage to 95 percent of population, ranking 55th or a better position on ITU ranking. By 2011, most households will have telephones. The number of households with computers and internet connections accounts for 20-30 percent by 2015 and 50-60 percent by 2020. About 30 percent of households will use cable television and 90 percent of households have television sets, of which 80 percent will use digital TV.
The project also highlights the proliferation of clearing administrative procedures online.
The government is ambitious to make Vietnam be included in the a-third first division in terms of e-government readiness index of the United Nations by 2020. To achieve this objective, the project puts forth a proposal a series of preferential policies to develop human resources, IT industry, telecom infrastructure and IT applications in state agencies, enterprises and social organs.
The Ministry of Information and Communications is drafting a national IT development programme for the period until 2015 and towards 2020. This programme specifies objectives in the project “Converting Vietnam into a powerful ICT nation in the 2015-2010 period” approved by the Prime Minister.
Kim Phuong
Vietnamese
