Innovation in vocational training

Students of the K35 cohort in the hotel and restaurant management program take their professional practice exam. *Photo: Contributor.*

Keeping pace with societal changes, Dien Bien Technical College has opened many new majors and vocational programs to meet the needs of students. These are also favorable conditions for the college to promote student recruitment, attract students, and improve the quality of training. Mr. Luu Quang Vu, Head of the Training Management Department at the College of Technology and Engineering, shared: “The school regularly improves and updates its training programs, expands training and vocational education methods, focusing on training in professions that meet the needs of the workforce and the labor market. The school continuously registers additional training programs to diversify professions in the fields where the school has strengths. At the same time, it meets the learning needs of children from ethnic minority groups living in the area and the need to train human resources for Dien Bien province and for the northern provinces of neighboring Laos. To date, the school is training in 10 college-level professions, 14 intermediate-level professions, 20 basic-level professions, and nearly 30 short-term training programs lasting less than 3 months...”.

Dien Bien Technical College is one of the first vocational schools in the province to have made significant changes in its vocational training and recruitment efforts. “Instead of waiting for students as before, the school sends recruitment staff to the communes, meeting with students while they are still in junior and senior high school to promote information and introduce training programs. This team, honed over many years, has gained extensive experience and conducts professional recruitment through various channels, especially social media… This activity helps students understand professions that match their interests and abilities, resulting in significant effectiveness in recruitment. In 2023, the school's enrollment targets were 110 college-level students, 270 intermediate-level students, and 300 basic-level students. To date, recruitment has basically met the plan,” said Mr. Luu Quang Vu.

From primarily training for commune-level civil servant positions, the College of Technology and Engineering has now opened many new majors and vocational programs in commerce and services such as: Supermarket sales, Restaurant and hotel operations, Tourism guiding; and vocational training in aesthetics such as: Hair styling, Skin care, Cosmetic makeup, Nail art techniques... Khang Thi Cau, from Huoi Tong 1 village, Huoi Leng commune, Muong Cha district, is one of the first students of the K35 Restaurant and hotel operations class at Dien Bien College of Technology and Engineering. Having just completed her graduation exam after more than two years of study at the school, the 18-year-old girl is confident in her training and ready to enter the labor market. Cau shared: “My opportunity to enter this field came about when the teachers came to recruit students at the junior high school where I was studying. At that time, I was only a 9th-grade student, but I wanted to try new things and see how much I could change. When I enrolled at school, the teachers advised me to study the Hotel and Restaurant Management major – a newly opened program at the school. After the first year of studying theory and cultural subjects, in the second year, my classmates and I did an internship at the Muong Thanh Grand Dien Bien Phu Hotel. The practical experiences there helped me consolidate my theoretical knowledge, hone my practical skills, and improve my communication abilities, making me more confident and less shy than before. Currently, I'm at home on summer break, waiting for my graduation exam results before looking for a job in my chosen field...”

It's not just Cau; students studying trades and services at Dien Bien Technical College all have internships and practical experiences at businesses. For example, the Supermarket Sales major goes on internships at Hoa Ba Supermarket and Ha Minh Supermarket; the Tourism Guide major goes on internships at historical sites under the Provincial Relic Management Board... According to Mr. Luu Quang Vu, this is an activity that meets the current trend of linking and coordinating with businesses in vocational training. “The school has been cooperating with businesses in the fields it trains to invite experts to participate in compiling and evaluating training programs, and assessing student internships at businesses. At the same time, we survey and gather feedback from employers of the school's graduates to promptly adjust training programs and methods to meet the businesses' requirements for knowledge and skills...” Mr. Luu Quang Vu added.

To achieve the goal of building a key, high-quality vocational education institution with a multi-disciplinary and multi-field training orientation, in the coming time, Dien Bien College of Technology and Engineering will flexibly implement two training methods simultaneously: the annual system and credit accumulation; with the focus on innovating the content, curriculum, and training methods. At the same time, it will expand training forms such as: full-time, part-time, distance learning, and guided self-study, closely linked to the requirement of improving the quality of training in industries and professions suitable to the needs of the workforce and the labor market, linking the training and development of human resources with the implementation of the province's socio-economic development plan. The school continues to request the Provincial People's Committee and the General Department of Vocational Education ( Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs ) to invest in facilities and other resources so that the school has the necessary conditions to open new and diverse training programs, especially those in the service sector, to meet the needs and changes of the local labor market, such as: Logistics, Veterinary services, Legal consulting services on land, high-tech agricultural professions, etc. From there, it can develop the number of students corresponding to the training programs.

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