Many businesses want to recruit people with disability (PWDs) but they do not meet the requirements due to lack skills. Meanwhile, people with disabilities have very little access to vocational schools.
Skilled people with disability in shortage, but few willing to go for vocational training
A training series for VET educators to support students with disability was supported by the Australian Government, through the Aus4Skills Program, and delivered by TAFE South Australia in conjunction with the Disability Research and Capacity Development. Participants for the training came from the General Department of Vocational Education, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; vocational education institutions; and organisations for people with disability from across the country.
After 2 years of implementation, a training program for educators to support students with disability in vocational education and training (VET) wrapped up on 31 May. At the final symposium, 31 educators from 14 educational institutions and representatives of three major disability associations in Vietnam (Can Tho, Da Nang, and Hanoi) discussed the major obstacles people with disabilities faced in accessing vocational training.
According to representatives of vocational schools, most newly built schools comply with accessibility standards for students with disability, the awareness of lecturers and students has greatly improved, schools have carried out many activities to help students with disability integrate, and the Government has introduced many policies to support people with disabilities to learn apprenticeships. However, the challenge is that very few people with disabilities are interested in vocation training.
Representatives of VET institutions attended many seminars on inclusive vocational training for people with disability over the past two years.
Ms. Mai Thi Thuy – lecturer at The College of Industry II – said that her school belongs to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids & Social Affairs, specialising in vocational training for wounded soldiers, so she has a lot of experience in vocational training for people with disability. However, students with disability at the school are rare.
Mr. Nguyen Van Cu – Deputy Director of the Disability Research and Capacity Development (DRD) – said: “There’s high demand from businesses for workers with disability but I don’t have anyone to recommend. People with disability who want to work often lack skills required.”
A representative of Thu Duc College of Technology shared that, a large seaport company once requested their college to recommend logistics graduates with disability for work, but they did not have any student with disability to recommend.
Despite industry demand for workers with disability, skilled PWDs are in shortage (Photo: Tung Nguyen).
Mr. Ciaran Chestnutt, Deputy Consul-General at Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City, said: “According to a recent survey, 93% of people with disability in Vietnam do not receive formal vocational education; 68% of people with disability over the age of 15 are currently unemployed. The lack of engagement of people with disability in the labour market causes the country to lose a potential 3% of GDP.”
Better communication for people with disability needed
At the symposium, participants divided into six groups to discuss various solutions, such as awareness raising for lecturers and students; researching occupations suitable for people with disability; identifying job positions that enterprises can offer PWDs; the skills required by specific job positions at an enterprise; designing vocational skills training programs suitable for students with disability, among others.
According to experts, people with disability possessing relevant skills for specific job positions can be as productive as anyone else.
Mr. Ciaran Chestnutt – Deputy Consul General of Australia in Ho Chi Minh City – awarded the certificates of completion the training course participants.
Mr. Phan Huy Duc – Dean of The Faculty of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City College of Transport – worked with group members to develop a new primary vocational teaching framework program, called warehouse operation in the logistics industry. The program was designed to perfectly fit everyone, including students with disability.
According to Mr. Duc, people with disability who have acquired all skills provided by this program can work in the logistics industry and earn a good income (USD 500-2,000 a month). But the challenge for this group is how to engage students with disability to validate the effectiveness of the training program that they designed. Therefore, Mr. Phan Huy Duc, proposed to build a coordinated network that provides people with disability with information, so that they know what occupations they can pursue at vocational schools, what skills they graduate with, and what high-income jobs are available for them at enterprises.
Mr. Nguyen Van Cu, Deputy Director of DRD suggested: “Enrolment campaigns targeting potential vocational students should include 3-5 minute introduction to areas of study that are available for students with disability, and what their job opportunities are.”
Source: dantri.vn
