Dr. Truong Anh Dung, Director General of DVET at the National Vocational Skills Competition 2020.

* Could you please tell us the outstanding results and achievements of the VET in 2020 and the whole period 2016 - 2020?

- The draft political report in the document of Party's 13^th congress stated that there are many changes in VET sector in the period of 2016-2020. Even in 2020, despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the action motto "Solidarity - discipline - creativity - efficiency", both promoting professional activities and disease prevention. Therefore, the key targets and tasks and breakthroughs on VET have all achieved progressive results, contributing to the completion of the 2016-2020 five-year tasks of the Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the whole country. In which, highlights are: The system of legal documents on VET is promptly and synchronously advised and issued, including related content in 4 laws, codes and 102 legal documents with many main innovative books from the organization, system management to governance of VET institutions, thereby creating a legal framework for organizing, managing and implementing vocational education training according to 3 levels of qualifications.

After 20 years, since the re-establishment of the DVET, the National Assembly officially assigned the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to perform the state management of VET, creating a significant foundation for the development of this field in association with the labor market and sustainable social security. For the first time (May 2020), the Prime Minister issued a separate Directive on the development of skilled human resources, clearly showing the role and position of VET is not only a matter of equipping knowledge, skills, career attitudes for learners/trainees, but also an important force contributing to improving labor productivity and increasing national competitiveness in the new situation.

The network of VET institutions has been gradually streamlined according to the objectives of Resolution No. 19-NQ / TW (a decrease of 82 public VET institutions, an increase of 108 non-public VET institutions). Up to now, dozens of institutions have had training programs meeting prestigious American, British and French accreditation standards; 25 schools were recognized to be eligible for training 12 job transfer from Australia; 45 schools were recognized as eligible for training 22 vocational transfer from Germany; hundreds of vocational schools are training key occupations to serve key economic branches of the country.

For the first time, the Prime Minister decided to make October 4 every year as Vietnam's Labor Skills Day, along with many activities and events that were periodically deployed widely such as: lectures, skills contests, career, start-up competition at all levels, ceremony honoring typical teachers and students nationwide, a forum to upgrade labor skills of Skilling up Vietnam, honoring job skills ambassadors ... have spread and made changes strong awareness, mobilize consensus to participate from learners, businesses and the whole society in VET sector.

Quality assurance and quality control conditions have been strengthened, step by step standardized, and at the same time, the transition to a training model is coordinated with enterprises, linked to the needs of enterprises and the labor market. The quality and efficiency of VET have made an important change, over 95% of the students have a job after graduation with a fairly good income, this rate in some schools has reached 100%. The trained workers of Vietnam have gradually mastered new and modern technology, contributing to improving labor productivity and increasing national competitiveness.

 * 2021 is the first year implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, also the first year of implementing socio-economic development plans and tasks for the period 2021-2015. What is the orientation to implement the overall plan to continue reforming VET, sir?

- In the context of strong development of digital economy, knowledge economy, under the impact of Industry 4.0, the complicated Covid-19 pandemic and the trend of human resource movement in the international labor market; Before the demand of human resources for socio-economic development in the new stage, firstly in 2021 and the period 2021-2025, the field of vocational education should continue to be identified as a focus in strategic breakthrough human resource development as stated in the draft document of the 13th university of the Party and must continue to innovate in an open, diversified, flexible, modern manner, focusing on the scale, structure and quality of training to meeting the needs of employees to learn and upgrade lifelong occupational skills.

Thoroughly grasping the Prime Minister's Directive No.24 in 2019, the Government's resolutions No. 01 and No. 02 in 2021, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will continue to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in the field of VET, focusing on review, amend and supplement institutions in VET to meet practical requirements. In which, focusing on building and submitting to the Party Central Secretariat an Directive on strengthening the Party's leadership in innovation and development of VET in the new situation; to submit to the Prime Minister: Strategy for VET development, the VET institutions network planning, the autonomy mechanism of the VET institutions; Scheme of digital transformation and online teaching; pilot college-level training for junior high school graduates; Pilot training to improve occupational skills of workers to meet the requirements of Industry 4.0, sending technical workers, trained workers to work under contracts in foreign high-income markets ; link vocational training institutions with businesses providing overseas employment services under contracts to train and prepare labor resources ...

Continue to effectively implement mechanisms and policies to develop VET, develop skilled human resources; increasing digital transformation and online training, focusing on re-training and regular training of the workforce to make dramatic changes in the size, quality and efficiency of VET system.

Continue to direct the review, organization and reorganization of the vocational training institutions directly under the management according to the objectives of the Resolution of the Central and Government; promote information, propaganda, make changes in society's awareness and consensus on the development of vocational education, the position and role of skilled human resources; focus on training, retraining, career change for employees; strengthening the close association with 3 parties: State - School - Entrepreneurship in VET activities; strengthening multilateral and bilateral international cooperation activities in vocational education ...

* Thank you very much!