About 19% of Vietnamese youth have had, or are participating in, some form of job training. Urban and male youths have more access to vocational training than their rural and female counterparts.

A lack of training opportunities and cost of training were main barriers to access. There is a positive correlation between vocational training participation and household income, especially for women. Females make up 25-30% of students enrolled in vocational secondary schools and vocational colleges. Women tend to be clustered in “traditional” female areas. Most female students focus on occupations related to business and accounting, tourism services and hospitality, sewing and fashion, and network administration. Few female students take part in training related to shipping, welding, metal cutting, automobile technology or industrial electronics.

The government has launched a variety of special training schemes aimed at helping disadvantaged groups.

Vocational Training for Disabled People

The government has launched special policy incentives for disabled people to attend vocational training. Vocational training institutions that enrol disabled people for vocational training are given financial incentives and support from the government, such as tax exemptions and rebates, access to preferential credit, and acquisition of land for no charge or on a long-term rental basis.

Disabled people who attend vocational training either receive scholarships and subsidies or discounted tuition fees. They are exempt from public service fees that other students have to pay, and can receive career guidance or job counselling services free of charge. Disabled students who come from poor households are awarded scholarships and boarding, lodging and transport subsidies.

Vocational Training for Young People

In 2008 the government launched a special seven-year programme to support young people in vocational training and job creation. The programme helps young people to access credits for attending vocational training, starting self-employment and taking up overseas employment. The programme also provides career guidance, job counselling and training in starting a business.

Vocational Training for Women

To improve equal access to vocational training, in 2010 the government launched a special seven-year programme to improve women’s opportunities through vocational training and employment generation. The programme set a target that by 2015 more than 70% of the female workforce will have access to information on the legal framework and policies that relate to vocational training and employment, and women will account for 40% of the total number enrolled in vocational training. Women will be given incentives, including exemption from tuition fees or rebates, subsidies, and access to preferential credits for self-employment.

Vocational Training for Rural Workers

In order to improve the quality of the rural workforce and gradually shift the economic and labour force structure, in 2009 the government launched an ambitious programme to transform vocational training for rural labour by 2020. The programme seeks to:

			Provide vocational training for about one million rural workers per year, including training and upgrading for 100,000 village civil servants
			Improve the quality and efficiency of vocational training in order to generate employment, increase workers’ incomes, help restructure the rural economy and labour force, and support the industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture and rural areas
			Develop a pool of qualified village civil servants to support the industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture and rural areas.