The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on October 5 in Hanoi inked a US $78 million loan agreement for the Skills Enhancement Project.
The project targets to build some vocational colleges training skilled workers in automotive technology, electrical and mechanical manufacturing, tourism, information and communication technology (ICT), and navigation and shipping industries.
Out of the total credit, the ADB will provide around US $70 million in loans from its concessional Asian Development Fund. The rest of money will come from domestic funds.
ADB will also back 15 private colleges to raise performance and create a foundation for private enterprises to engage in the vocational training sector.
As of 2009, Vietnam had over 90 vocational colleges and 250 vocational schools.
However, the vocational training system of Vietnam has not met the actual demand of the labor market. Many specialists consider the lack of skilled workers as a huge barrier for national economic development and higher competitiveness of made-in-Vietnam products.
