How are professional skills defined in the modern global context? What skills do graduates need? What are optimisation models to provide professional skills in higher education? These are important questions discussed by educators and businesses in the programme of global education dialogue: “Professional skills in Southeast Asia and human resource demands of the New Economy: Challenges of higher education.” The dialogue was recently organized by the British Council in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is the first programme in the series Global Education Dialogues by the British Council held in 6 countries / regions in Asia until January 2013. The programme brings together nearly 200 economic and education experts and leaders of enterprises in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, UK and Vietnam.
Director of British Council Vietnam, Robin Rickard said that in Vietnam, occupational skills the graduates is a topic receiving much attention in the context where the advantage of young population and cheap labour of Vietnam is becoming increasingly blurred. By 2020, the rate of population aged 5-19 will be reduced to 22 percent compared to 27 percent of 2010. In addition, labour costs in Bangladesh and Cambodia are now cheaper than in Vietnam. This fact shows the challenge for policy makers, educators, businesses and individuals in Vietnam.
Currently, Vietnam faces disadvantages because it does not supply enough graduates equipped with the skills that businesses need. The main reason is the lack of linkage between higher education establishments and skill requirements of employers; between higher education establishments and businesses in the stage of teaching and research and between education and training facilities.
"This is not just the story of Vietnam while many other East Asian countries are also facing the challenge of an aging population and demand for higher labour productivity and improving the quality of human resources. In the context, this policy dialogue has created a great opportunity for the parties to sit together, discuss and listen. Participants can learn a lot from the stories in particular, the optimization models are presented by international speakers from famous businesses and universities in the world,” said Robin Rickard.
According to experts, to remedy this situation, East Asian countries should focus on training and teaching professional skills necessary for undergraduate students, have a clear direction for national education system and give priorities to policy and education reform.
Professor Alison Halsted, Vice President in charge of academic strategy development, Aston University, the UK is one of the speakers at the dialogue. As leader of a British university famous for internship programme for students and high rate of employed graduates (in the school year 2010-2011 there was 87 percent of Aston University undergraduate students found work for the university level six months after graduation, it ranked fifth among UK universities). Professor Alison Halsted shared her research on how the UK response to changes in the economy as well as the skills students need to equip the UK and international students; how to build relationships with the business and how to train young people with technology acumen, and have good business skills for the labour market.
In addition, Dr Paul Smith, President of Harvey Nash Outsourcing (outsourcing business currently has over 2,000 Vietnamese employees working in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city) expressed and idea that whether Vietnam put ‘soft skills' to core subjects besides math, science and foreign languages to stimulate creativity, enhance quality and teamwork of students.
It is known that the important research papers will be published by the British Council after the policy dialogue. The next global education dialogue in the Asia dialogue series will be held in Hong Kong on September 27-28 with the theme The Future of Asian research network. Following Hong Kong, Singapore will held dialogue: Higher education and creative industries (October 18 - 19), Malaysia with a dialogue on new models of overseas training and experience of students (November 27 - 28), China with dialogue with the theme of international education cooperation and way to be recognized in China (December 10) and finally Japan with dialogue on higher education leaders and the challenges of globalization: The experience of East Asia (15-16 January 2013).
Quynh Chi
Vietnamese
