Project Boosts Disadvantaged Youth Employment Post-Covid

The Hanoi Industrial Vocational College (HNIVC) and REACH Institute, with support from Plan International Vietnam, on November 24 held the closing ceremony for the Standard Chartered Foundation (SCF)-funded project 'Ready for Work - Covid-19 Recovery and Digital Economy.'

The project is part of Futuremakers, a global initiative by Standard Chartered to tackle inequality.

The project "Ready for Work – Covid-19 Recovery and Digital Economy" was jointly implemented by Hanoi Industrial Vocational College, REACH Institute, and PIV in the two years 2022-2023 under the funding of SCF, with the goal of addressing youth economic exclusion and unemployment caused and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After nearly two years of implementation, the project has yielded many encouraging results, with nearly 1,500 disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 29 receiving financial assistance for short-term vocational and/or soft skills training, with over 90% of young people finding paid jobs after participating in short-term vocational classes.

The project has also attracted the participation of over 90 businesses in capacity-building activities and job-search assistance for young people. 101 officials and teachers of Hanoi Industrial Vocational College and REACH , as well as 80 parents, received gender equality and disability inclusion training in order to improve the quality of vocational training activities and create jobs for underserved young people.

Nearly 1,500 disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 29 received financial assistance for short-term vocational and/or soft skills training.

Principal of Hanoi Industrial Vocational College, Pham Thi Huong highlighted that the project supporting the implementation of short-term courses for young people in difficult circumstances has helped learners shorten their time at school while also addressing employment needs, allowing them to earn income sooner.

Hanoi Industrial Vocational College has implemented 5 short-term vocational training classes as part of the project, training 150 students. Many positive outcomes have resulted from the project, including meeting labor market needs with high-quality trained human resources and assisting underserved youths to receive vocational training with 100% scholarships.

After the project’s short-term vocational courses ended, the school will continue to promote replication of this training model so that students as well as learners in need can access it, with training programs created with the project’s support, added Huong.

Through the project, REACH Institute organized many gender-inclusive career counseling activities in the community to get closer to disadvantaged youth and help them choose a career that suits their desires and abilities, said Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, project coordinator from REACH Institute.

REACH has provided vocational and soft skills to over 400 young people in the fields of Information Technology, Hospitality, and Beauty Care by 2023, with women accounting for 48% of the total. More than 90% of young people who participated in the project and graduated found jobs, demonstrating their initiative and efforts.

REACH also recognizes that meeting new market demands is critical to creating job opportunities for young people. This is critical for achieving long-term results, and REACH is committed to doing so in the future, Huyen stressed.

According to Le Quynh Lan, acting country director of Plan International Vietnam, the confidence and initial success of young people in the process of finding good job opportunities is the result of cooperation between Plan International and the partners - REACH and Hanoi Industrial Vocational College through this project.

Plan International is committed to working with our partners and young people to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of young people by providing market-oriented career guidance and training programs that respond to the rapid changes in the labor market in the post-COVID-19 period.

Representing the project’s direct beneficiaries, Yen, a 2D graphic design graduate, emphasized that before taking this course, she had no idea about my future and nor what she should do. Her communication abilities were also lacking. Now she's much more confident and made a lot of new friends. She knows what career she should pursue, and is confident that it will enable her to earn enough money to support herself and her family.

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