Many graduates with excellent degrees continue to fail to find jobs due to a lack of vocational skills.

 People applying for jobs at the HCMC Department of Taxation

Students still lack skills

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh from the Development and Policies Research Centre (DEPOCEN) said his centre had received many applications from graduates but few were capable of either translating foreign languages or could communicate with foreigners.

Students either seriously lacked or had weak working skills such as team working, time management, communication ability and or the capacity to write reports. They may be experts in using the internet but could neither efficiently work with Word or Excel.

"Many graduates apply to us without knowing what the job is really about," Anh said.

A well-know lawyer said he had rejected many graduates because they had failed to meet his standards. "We don't need theories they are taught in school, but practical knowledge."

According to a survey by Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 26.2% questioned graduates haven't been able to find jobs. 58% of them don't even know what they were looking for and 42% had been rejected by employers.

Vice Director Dao Thanh Truong of Centre for Policy Studies and Analysis said even after successfully finding employment, the graduates encountered many problems. 61% said they lacked vocational skills, 42% lacked experience and 32% lacked specific knowledge for the job.

Schools encourage consistent practice

At least 70% of university students will have more vocational than academic training by 2020.

Some universities have already implemented their own vocational courses. These courses offer the opportunity to learn employer-friendly soft skills and practical knowledge. The graduates from these courses are also said to have higher chances in finding jobs.

However, popularising these courses has proved difficult.

Prof Pham Quang Trung, Deputy Head of the National Economics University said not many students choose the courses because they would have to pay much higher fees. Students would also suffer from lower grades and degrees if they veered to far from an academic curriculum.

Dr Pham Thi Ly of the National University in HCMC said the situation where high grades and top university passes were regarded as more important than practical skills. Dr Pham blamed employers and general public views for the problem.