Businesses come to technical schools to hunt for students

150 technical enterprises came to the job fair of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology to interview directly and find good students to work.

Currently recruiting automation technicians and machine operators, Mr. Nguyen Dang Tien, Head of Automation Engineering Group of First Solar Vietnam Co., Ltd., assessed that job fairs at technical schools such as Bach Khoa are an opportunity for the company to hunt for potential candidates.

Mr. Tien is looking for students who have solid knowledge of their major, are willing to learn, are progressive, and especially have good English because all the machines and information in the company are in English. In the morning, he directly interviewed 10 final year students from several universities and "chosen" two students from Polytechnic.

"We screened the applications, interviewed them by phone a few times, and then scheduled a face-to-face interview. Those who pass today's interview will be officially hired, even though they will graduate in a while," said Mr. Tien.

Students exchange information with recruiting companies at the booth on the morning of October 14. Photo: Le Nguyen — Students exchange information with recruiting companies at the booth on the morning of October 14. Photo: *Le Nguyen*

Through 10 candidates, Mr. Tien assessed that today's students are more confident and communicate much better than the previous generation. This is also the advantage that Mr. Hirai Toshiaki, General Director of ACT Engineering Vietnam Co., Ltd., commented on the three students interviewed directly.

Mr. Toshiaki spent 30-40 minutes with each candidate and said that they were all punctual, neat, passionate about architecture and construction, and had a desire to improve. These qualities are highly valued when working with Japanese people. He refused to evaluate the candidates' expertise and skills because he believed that these factors could be further trained and would only be evaluated when working in practice.

Dr. Tran Thien Phuc, Vice President of the University of Technology, said that before the fair, 150 businesses had received more than 1,200 CVs, double that of last year. The majority of candidates were final-year students of the University of Technology and some other technical schools, showing that future engineers are proactively looking for job opportunities early.

Of the more than 32,300 people looking for jobs in Ho Chi Minh City, workers with university degrees or higher account for nearly 77%, or about 25,000 people, according to a labor market report released earlier this month.

From now until the end of the year, businesses need to recruit 70,000 people, of which only about 16,000 have university degrees or higher, according to the above report. Currently, there is a paradox in the labor market: many people are unemployed, but many businesses are also struggling to find highly qualified personnel.

At the job fair, many businesses book direct interview rooms, creating a bridge to help students clearly demonstrate their abilities and find jobs in their majors.

Dinh Phong, a senior at Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, was one of thousands of people who came to seek opportunities. He passed the preliminary round of First Solar Vietnam to enter the next round. The 10-minute interview focused on Phong's major and his experience from projects he did during his studies and internship. The male student predicted that his chances of being accepted were low because his English was weak.

"When asked if I wanted to be interviewed in English or Vietnamese, I chose Vietnamese and knew I didn't have an advantage," Phong recounted.

The male student will look for more opportunities at other companies with a target salary of 10-12 million VND per month.

"For new graduates in engineering, this is the basic salary because at first I prioritize learning more about expertise and skills, and accumulating experience," Phong said.

Thuy Phuong, 22, who has just graduated from the Industrial Management major at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, is looking for an opportunity to become a purchasing staff with an expected salary of 10 million VND per month. According to Phuong, the job fair gives her the opportunity to directly approach recruiting companies instead of sending her CV online.

After visiting the booths of several construction companies, Trung Kien, a final year student of the Faculty of Construction at the University of Science and Technology, decided to leave his information and CV with a company he had researched beforehand. After submitting his application, Kien was advised to apply for a construction supervisor position.

"I will graduate at the end of this year, so now I'm starting to look for suitable companies and positions to prepare," Kien said.

Poor English is the biggest barrier

Through many interviews at universities, Mr. Pham Thanh Vu, representative of the recruitment department of Esuhai Technology Company, said that professional ability is what he believes in Polytechnic graduates. Thanks to good academic performance and coming from a prestigious school, many Polytechnic students have high egos, often assuming a higher position than the average. However, through the candidates interviewed today, Mr. Vu realized that this has improved.

"Foreign languages are still a common weakness of students. Out of 10 students who came for interviews, only 3 could communicate and answer in English," said Mr. Tien of First Solar Vietnam, emphasizing that good foreign languages will be an advantage for students when applying.

Besides foreign languages, two employers assessed that some students have unclear career orientation, expecting high positions and income even though they have just started working.

Recruiter interviews candidate directly on the morning of October 14. Photo: Le Nguyen — Recruiter interviews candidate directly on the morning of October 14. Photo: *Le Nguyen*

Not having much hope for the results of the recent interview, Dinh Phong said that with TOEIC 550, he must improve his foreign language to meet the requirements of a good job position in a large company.

"The results haven't been as expected, but meeting big companies directly in this way helps me practice my interview skills and prepare better for the next time," Phong shared.

Le Nguyen

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