More and more newly-graduated university students are applying for higher education after being unable to find a job with their diplomas.

 Unemployed graduates decide to go for post-graduate education

Having graduated with an outstanding diploma in Business Administration from Dong A University in Danang, Nguyen Thi Hoai B. has applied to many firms but she still cannot find a stable job. Following her friends' advice, she enrolled at a post-graduate university to get a master's degree.

She said because she studied at a private university--and there are several places where they don't like private universities--she has to get a higher degree. "Each class has just over a dozen students and lots of them are recent graduates."

Facing a similar situation, Tran Minh N., who studied at the department of language in Danang University, Quang Nam Province, said, "We haven't received our study report yet but I hope I get high marks. Currently I'm unable to find a job so I'll try to get a master's degree."

According to the department of post-graduate education at Danang University, the number of recent graduates who sign up for MBA courses has surged in recent years. In 2010, this number was only 15-20% of total post-graduate students but it has increased to 50%. They also have had to open new courses due to the rising number of students.

Phan Cao Tho, deputy head of the department said, "The number of post-graduate students in Vietnam is increasing. Even students who have found jobs still sign up for these courses to improve their qualifications. The employers need a subordinate with good skills, not just quality degrees, so I suggest that students find out what they really want to do before signing up for any courses."

Lawyer Le Cao From FDVN Law Firm in Danang City said even students with masters' degrees are finding it hard in the job market. In fact, our education system is unable to provide a suitable enrolment target for each department. Meanwhile, several employers may doubt the quality of the master's degree.

As usual, Cao suggested that employers and educators must find a way to co-operate with each other to avoid redundancy in some sectors and a lack of human resources in others.