Proskills Global Limited has been back in Hanoi, Vietnam to share the results of its Textile and Garment sector workforce skills study

The skills study, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Embassy in Vietnam (FCO), saw representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam (MOLISA), Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT), British Council, Vietnam Textiles and Apparel Association (VITAS) and Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (VINATEX), employers, industry training providers and other relevant stakeholders, come together to discuss how they will use the results to develop an industry wide and long-term skills strategy.

This study will support the Textile and Garment sector in grasping present and future industrial and economic opportunities and challenges, through improved business performance, bought about by capable and skilled workforce. It will be used to help the industry shape its own skills strategy and to link it to the country’s national policy and Social-Economic Development Strategy, as well as the Textile and Garment industry’s Development Strategy vision to 2020. Additionally, industry-based training institutions will use the results to further develop their capacity and capability to deliver a broader range of high value vocational training and education to workers in order to meet employer demands.

“This is the start of a new partnership between the Vietnamese Government and its agencies, employers, training providers and industry associations and it is very exciting to be at the inception of this process. Once we have managed to move forward with the recommendations, we’ll be supporting the Government and industry, in using this approach and the best practice to inform the creation of a transferrable sectoral skills model for adoption by other industrial sectors across Vietnam.” Commented Debbie Watts, International Skills Research Expert.

Vietnam’s textile and garment sector is made up of approximately 6,000 enterprises, 30% of which are Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies. The industry employs approximately 2.5 million workers, 60% of which are female. It represents 25% of the country’s industrial sector and constitutes its second largest export market (valued at US$22.8bn in 2015).

“Vietnam has the highest rate of industrial growth of all the ASEAN countries and so its workers must be equipped for the challenges this will bring and in order to cease the opportunities this will present.Overhauling the current training and education regime to better suit employer demands will act as an enabler to sustainable growth and diversification of the textile and garment sector.” Said Jonathan Ledger, International Skills Director. “It is great to have helped the industry strategy development and we look forward to supporting their future journey. Working with such a vibrant industry makes it all worthwhile.”