82940 v2

Skilling up Vietnam:
Preparing the workforce for a modern
market economy
Vietnam Development Report 2014
Main Report

November 2013

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Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Overview Skilling up Vietnam: Preparing the workforce for a modern market economy ...................... 11
Skills and development in Vietnam ........................................................................................................ 11
Looking back: Vietnams shift away from agriculture and the role of education .............................. 11
Looking ahead: Modern jobs and changing skill needs ...................................................................... 13
What skills are in demand today (and will be in 2020)? ........................................................................ 15
Defining skills................................................................................................................................... 15
How are cognitive, behavioral and technical skills formed? .............................................................. 16
Preparing the workforce for a modern market economy .................................................................. 17
Step 1: Promoting school readiness through early childhood development ..................................... 18
Step 2: Building the cognitive and behavioral foundation in general education ............................... 20
Step 3: Building job-relevant technical skills through a more connected system.............................. 23
Summary................................................................................................................................................. 28
Chapter 1: Vietnams economic transformation and the role of education .............................................. 31
rends in Vietnams labor market since

i m i.................................................................................... 31

he role of education in Vietnams labor market................................................................................... 36

Looking ahead: Skill needs for an industrializing Vietnam ..................................................................... 42
Summary................................................................................................................................................. 46
Chapter 2: Skills for current and future jobs .............................................................................................. 49
Shifting the dialogue: from education to skills ....................................................................................... 50
What do we mean by skills? ................................................................................................................... 55
What skills are in demand and used in the urban labor market? .......................................................... 60
Summary................................................................................................................................................. 66
In depth: What are cognitive, behavioral and technical skills and how are they measured? ............... 67
In depth: Gender and skills in Vietnam .................................................................................................. 71
In depth: Comparing skills in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi ..................................................................... 73
In depth: Social and behavioral skills in Vietnam ................................................................................... 75
Chapter 3: Skills formation and the importance of the early years ........................................................... 77
What do we know about the formation of cognitive, social and technical skills? ................................. 77
Sensitive and critical periods for building a skill..................................................................................... 79
New skills are built off earlier skills and benefit from previous investments .................................... 82

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Behavioral skills feed into cognitive skills and vice versa ................................................................... 83
Step 1: School readiness through early childhood development........................................................... 83
Effective parenting for children aged 0-3 ........................................................................................... 85
High quality preschool for children aged 3-6 ..................................................................................... 88
Summary................................................................................................................................................. 89
Chapter 4: Cognitive and Behavioral Foundation Skills in the General Education System ........................ 91
General education in Vietnam at a glance ............................................................................................. 92
Step 2: Building the cognitive and behavioral foundation in general education ................................... 95
More schooling ................................................................................................................................... 95
Better schooling.................................................................................................................................. 99
More involvement of parents and communities in schooling ......................................................... 105
Summary............................................................................................................................................... 106
In depth: Education and skills development in Korea .......................................................................... 107
Chapter 5: Technical skills to promote employability .............................................................................. 111
Technical skills development in Vietnam at a glance ........................................................................... 111
Step 3: Building job-relevant technical skills through a more connected system................................ 116
Better information ............................................................................................................................ 117
Adequate incentives ......................................................................................................................... 121
Enhanced capacity ............................................................................................................................ 125
Summary............................................................................................................................................... 128
In depth: Developing occupational skills standards in Vietnams tourism sector................................ 129
References ................................................................................................................................................ 131
Endnotes ................................................................................................................................................... 137

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