High-tech Human Resources in HCM City: Quality Remains Poor
If each university and college in Ho Chi Minh City is capable of training 200 information technology students per year, each year the city can train 10,000 students. Let alone 10,000 others trained in 35 training centres. With a capacity of training 20,000 engineers each year, it is simple to achieve a target of 50,000 information technology experts in 2005 in term of quantity as set by the national plans for the industry human resources. However, what is needed is quality.
Information technology, especially software manufacturing for export, has seen some optimistic signs recently after a long difficult period. In the last four years, skilled software engineers have been highly paid. In fact, these engineers have yet to meet the demand of employers.
Quality fails to meet the demand
According to the results of a survey conducted recently in universities, colleges and training centres in Ho Chi Minh City by the city's Department of Science and Technology, training has yet to meet quality requirements of large-sized software manufacturers. Also, according to the survey, training in Vietnam remains fragmented, yet to focus on urgent demand of the market while textbooks have yet to be upgraded regularly. Especially, students do not receive support in professional orientations to have opportunities to improve their skills. Ngo Hung Phuong, general director of the Paragon Solutions Vietnam (PSV) Company, said that each month his company needs between 40 and 50 software engineers but it could only recruit between 15 and 20 people. PSV needs engineers for implementing projects for foreign companies in the US and Europe, so requirements for quality are very tough. Although the labour cost in Vietnam is half that of other countries, major projects are yet to be implemented in Vietnam as they fail to recruit engineers and workers. Phuong went on to say that it was difficult to recruit between 50 and 100 engineers in Vietnam to implement projects within one or two months. Meanwhile, it is very simple in India. As suggested by the Information Technology Division of the city’s Department of Science and Technology, Vietnam should train engineers according to orders of enterprises, combining the training in universities and institutes with working in enterprises to improve the quality of engineers.
Changes needed for training
Now, training in information technology in Ho Chi Minh City has three favourable conditions. These include the largest number of universities and colleges training information technology engineers and technicians. Also, the city has the most unofficial training establishments which have been set up in co-operation with foreign countries, and highest investment from the State budget for information technology universalisation purposes. Paradoxically, when students of other industries, such as construction and mechanics can design and programme complete software products, information technology students cannot even though they have to take more difficult examinations.
Socio-economic development shows that information technology cannot be separated from other sciences. It may be ineffective if the city focuses on developing its human resources for information technology only or socialises the training in the industry by importing training technology from foreign countries to create training programmes for software programmers. This is because students of other fields can learn about information technology as a support for their subjects while information technology students do not have opportunities to learn other sciences to support their knowledge. This is a paradox, which needs to be changed right now, said Nguyen Duc Nghia, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City National University.
According to employers, most new university graduates fail to meet their demand so they can recruit only ten per cent of candidates. This implies that knowledge students have gained when they study at universities and colleges does not meet enterprises' work.
Permanent vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, talking to the press said that Vietnam had good opportunities for information technology labour market, especially for the software industry, but Vietnam had yet to successfully create a training market for information technology. Therefore, according to Nhan, intervention of authorised agencies is needed to improve the quality of the market. Investors now have a huge demand for software engineers, between 50 and 100 engineers per year, but Vietnam has yet to meet their demand. The biggest concern for Vietnam is not the lack of investors or contracts but the lack of human resources.
According to economic experts, the market for information technology engineers and workers is yet to heat up but will gradually begin to do so from 2005 and really heat up in 2006 when AFTA takes effect and more foreign countries start investing in Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular should change its training methods, especially in information technology.
Vietnamese
