Students who start working early are likely to fall into the 'middle-income trap'?

Students attend the UET Job Fair 2024 to find future jobs - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

On March 30, the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi organized the Job Fair - Successful Connection Day (UET Job Fair 2024).

The program was attended by nearly 60 businesses with about 80 recruitment booths in various industries and technology fields. Here, students were able to directly demonstrate their abilities and experiences, and experience the interview and recruitment process at different companies and businesses.

Drop out of college and get a low salary

Speaking at the program, Prof. Dr. Chu Duc Trinh - Principal of the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi - said that currently the Vietnamese labor market is strongly integrating with the world, requiring very high quality labor.

According to Mr. Trinh, with the characteristics of the technology industry, if students go to work right from when they are still in school and neglect their studies, they will miss out on the basic knowledge and skills learned in school.

In addition, it will be very difficult for this group of students to do innovative work, because this is work that can only be done when they have solid knowledge and skills learned in school.

Prof. Dr. Chu Duc Trinh - Principal of University of Technology - spoke at the program - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Mr. Trinh stated that the most important thing for students is to study. After finishing school, they must have a basic knowledge base to be able to work and develop well in businesses. If they do not have enough basic knowledge and leave to go out, they will easily fall into the "middle income trap" and will have difficulty overcoming it.

Specifically, many students work while still in school with an income of 5 - 10 million VND/month but cannot graduate from university. This situation exists in many universities across the country.

"The middle-income trap means that at first you start working early and have money, but after a while this job will not be stable, you cannot get a higher salary, you cannot rise to become a team leader, but can only be an ordinary worker until retirement. Meanwhile, if you study very well, have very good skills, later that person will gradually advance.

If there are difficulties, students need to share with the school and the community to overcome them. Do not use immediate difficulties to invest in getting a job. This is a short-term matter," Mr. Trinh explained.

Do not hire employees who have not graduated from university

Present at the program, Ms. Dau Thanh Hoa - Head of Human Resources Department of LG R&D Vietnam - said that LG Company also does not recruit students who are still studying, and does not have an internship program. The company has a single program, the LG scholarship, awarded to final year students who are ready to work after receiving the scholarship.

"Usually, when recruiting, companies require applicants to have 1 year of experience and must be really good. Therefore, students must think long-term, should really focus on one job at a time, and hone their skills for future work. If you want to work extra to cover expenses, you should only work a little on the weekends," said Ms. Hoa.

According to Mr. Pham Tuan Anh - representative of Joboko Recruitment Technology Platform, "recruiting a student who has not fully completed the skills and professional knowledge will sometimes create future consequences for the students themselves, and businesses will not have a "long-term" human resource, only meeting short-term work needs".

10% of students do not receive a diploma each semester

According to Mr. Trinh, the average graduation rate of the University of Technology each course is about 90% (about 60% graduate on time), the remaining 10% of students do not receive a degree, including a very small number of very good students who participate in startups, but many of them fall into the "middle income trap".

"In addition to internship guidance, businesses should not recruit or assign main jobs to students who have not graduated. Students who have not graduated must study, and after graduation must work.

In the coming time, the business community, administrators and universities must work together to limit the above situation," Mr. Trinh emphasized.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sinh-vien-di-lam-som-de-dinh-bay-thu-nhap-trung-binh-20240330133644179.htm