Education & Training Sector in Vietnam

Education & Training Sector in Vietnam

Education is an important part of Vietnamese society. It is a major preoccupation of government and is a highly valued and respected activity. The Vietnam education and training sector is large, present in almost every village and touching virtually every family. There are almost 18 million students in the education system and over 500,000 teachers and instructors.

Market overview

Education & the system of higher learning and technical schools is very important to business as it provides the trained workers and also a system to transfer skills and train new employees needed in a modern business society. The Vietnam Education & Skills sector is large and is growing fast. Ministry of Education & Training (MOET) always affirms this sector as a priority in the national development policy of Vietnam as a key component of human development. The sector enjoys a great deal of attention and investment from the Government, international donors and the private sector to enable it to reform and modernise.

In Vietnam, the economy in recent years has a remarkable performance. GDP growth increased 8.5% in 2006, 8.2% in 2007, 6.3% in 2008, 6.5% in 2009, 6.8% in 2010 and 5.9% in 2011 (Source: Asian Development Bank – ADB). Future growth is highly dependent on a high quality workforce who is better skilled and trained in modern education and with better quality language skills. Education has always had a central role in Vietnam culture and society. It is seen as the avenue of advancement and families routinely sacrifice much to ensure their offspring get the required education. The government of Vietnam has for some time set the priority of education in terms of its budget. Currently, education occupies approx. 20% of all state budget expenditures and accounts for 5.5% of GDP.

There are amounts of money to be spent on education equipment under various internationally-funded projects which are either on-going or in the pipeline, which range up to US$500 million to 2020.

UK presence in Education & Training Sector in Vietnam include British Council, British University Vietnam, British Vietnamese International School, Apollo Education & Training, British Education Partnership, Bell Vietnam, Language Link Vietnam, Edexcel, City & Guild, etc.

Level of Education:

  • Primary: Achieved 09/10: 111% (GER) and 99% (NER)) Target: 90% of eligible age children 90% of ethnic minority children in the schooling age.

  • Lower Secondary: Achieved 09/10: 92% (GER) Target: 100% (GER).

  • Upper Secondary: Achieved 09/10: 56% (GER) Target: 80% of the age group to complete upper secondary education and equivalent level.

  • TVET (post basic level): Achieved 09/10: about 15-20% of LSE graduates. Target: 30% of lower and upper secondary education graduates attend vocational training institution.

  • Higher: Achieved 09/10: 16%. Target: There will be 45,000 students out of one hundred thousand populations, of which the age group of 18-24 reaches 40%.

Source ADB.

Key opportunities

The population of Vietnam is at 87.84 million in early 2012 with nearly 70% aged from 15 to 59 which create opportunities for Education & Training in almost all sub-sectors listed below:

English Language Training

There are 3.4 million 7 – 40 yr olds of ABC class in HCMC and Hanoi (divides 54/46%) and about 65,000 potential IELTS candidates.

  • Vietnam Government Foreign Languages 2020 Strategy Summary:

  • To introduce English in Primary Schools as compulsory subject from Grade 3 onwards (8 years).

  • To design and introduce a new compulsory foreign language curriculum from Grade 3-12.

  • To introduce a consistent language assessment framework equivalent to National Standard levels.

  • To develop and implement a programme for teaching other subjects such as maths in foreign languages in upper secondary schools.

  • To develop foreign language skills for officials within the continuing education sector.

  • To implement new foreign language programmes for tertiary students in vocational education schools.

  • Investment in infrastructure, activities and equipment in support of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.

Educational equipment

British companies from British Educational Equipment Suppliers Association (BESA) and Engineering Training Equipment Manufacturers Association UK (ETEMA UK) have been supplying educational equipment to Vietnam through their local agents.

Joint programmes

Joint courses/programmes between Vietnamese and Foreign Universities became more and more popular in Vietnam. Some British Universities have been actively participated in this education partnership include University of Central Lancashire, Manchester Metropolitan University, De Montfort University and others. Business opportunities in this area also include industrial training in the fields of aviation, marine, oil & gas and corporate training such as in finance & banking and hospitality sectors.

Overseas study

According to Vietnam International Education Development (VIED), Ministry of Education & Training (MOET), there are more than 100,000 Vietnamese students now studying overseas of which about 90% are self-financed. The UK ranked 5th among the most favourite destinations after Australia, the US, China and Singapore with 8,000 Vietnamese are studying in the UK and this number is rising by 15% every year.

Vocational training

Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) signed decision No826 on 7 July 2011 to adopt 277 vocational and major vocational training schools that will receive investment capital from the National Key Programme for 2011-1015. Of the selected vocations, 30 will meet the international vocational training standard; 58 will meet the ASEAN standard; and 120 will meet the national standard. UK technical universities and colleagues my find partnership and commercial opportunities in i) Technique/skills standard, ii) Programmes framework, iii) Contents of vocational training, iv) List of equipments to be purchased to support these training contents, v) Quality assurance and vi) Quality testing.

Consultancy service

UK consultancy service in the Education & Training sector has been selected for many of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank funded projects in Vietnam. Some on-going ODA funded projects are listed below:

  • Vocational and Technical Education Project

  • Higher Education Project

  • Secondary Education Sector Development Programme

  • Lower Secondary Education for the Most Disadvantaged Regions Project

  • Upper Secondary & Professional Teacher Development Project

  • Lower Secondary Education Development Project

  • Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children Project

  • Support to the Renovation of Educational Management Project

  • High Quality Engineering Training Project.

Latest export opportunities – Education & Training

Latest export opportunities – Vietnam

Getting into the market

  • Working with good local partner

  • Having long term commitment in the market.

More about doing business in Vietnam

Contacts

Market intelligence is critical when doing business overseas, and UKTI can provide bespoke market research and support during overseas visits though our chargeable Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS).

To commission research or for general advice about the market, get in touch with our specialists in country – or contact your local international trade team.

  • Vu Lan Anh (Ms), British Embassy in Hanoi. Tel: +84 (0)4 3936 0500 ext. 2224 or email: [email protected].

  • Ho Thi Kim Phuong (Ms), British Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 (0)8 3825 1380 ext 2232 or email: [email protected].

Contact your local international trade team

Major Events

Education UK Exhibition

Date: March and October 2013 (tba)

Website address: www.britishcouncil.org/vietnam

VIETEDU 2013

Date: April (tba)

Website address: www.vietedu.com.vn

UKTI Events

UKTI runs a range of events for exporters, including seminars in the UK, trade missions to overseas markets and support for attendance at overseas trade shows.

Latest events – Education & Training

Latest events – Vietnam

Useful links

More about OMIS and other UKTI services for exporters

Sectors: Education & Training
Countries: Vietnam
Export Action Plan