Why don't businesses accept first-year interns?

Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport in the discussion

Many interesting exchanges between students and business representatives in the discussion "Job opportunities in the field of smart-modern transportation" organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper in collaboration with Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport this morning (June 22).

Up to 80% of businesses hire inexperienced workers.

Asking a direct question at the discussion, student NTVy (transportation engineering major, Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport), wondered: "Gen Z craves experience and wants to do an internship early. But this morning, when surveying businesses at the job fair, most of them did not accept first-year students like me to do an internship...". This student wondered why when recruiting, businesses prioritize people with experience but do not accept students to do internships right from their first year, while they also want to have experience at the business as soon as possible.

Dr. Phan Huu Duy Quoc shares information

Answering students' concerns, Dr. Phan Huu Duy Quoc, member of the Board of Directors of Construction Corporation No. 1-CTCP, said that internship is a process of mutual support between students and businesses. For this activity to be truly effective for both, it is best for students to have basic knowledge before the internship, and not become a "burden" for the business. Mr. Quoc said that students should not be "in a hurry", but instead focus on learning knowledge in the first 1-2 years.

Regarding the issue of work experience, Ms. Nguyen Thi Trieu, Head of Forecasting and Database Department, Center for Human Resource Demand Forecasting and Labor Market Information, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the survey results of this unit showed that up to 80% of enterprises recruit workers with no experience and less than 1 year of experience. Moreover, the survey results also showed that currently the labor supply has up to 70% of new graduates.

"The movement of labor from one job position to another only accounts for a low percentage, which is a bright spot in terms of job opportunities for new graduates," Ms. Trieu added.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Phuong, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, answers students' concerns

"A bad point on a CV when applying for a job"

Providing more information to students at the seminar, Ms. Nguyen Thi Trieu said that on average, Ho Chi Minh City needs 310,000-330,000 jobs each year, of which the transportation and warehousing sector alone needs 15,000-18,000, and the IT-communication sector needs 20,000-25,000 jobs each year. The survey with the group of new graduates also showed that the requirements of businesses for skills and working attitudes are very high. In particular, in the technical sector, especially transportation, some skills that workers need to have are: problem solving, problem solving, teamwork, working attitude, and application of technology related to the field of study. In particular, foreign language skills are most highly valued by businesses in all industries.

Students ask questions to experts

Talking about the necessity of foreign language skills, in his sharing, Dr. Phan Huu Duy Quoc said that in many businesses today, people with good foreign language skills can receive twice the income of people without this skill.

Speaking more about the skills that need to be equipped before going to work, Dr. Phan Huu Duy Quoc analyzed: "With the current digital transformation policy, traditional work but the way of doing it will be different according to the application of digital transformation. Therefore, an important skill that young people need to have today is using digital tools."

Regarding the young workforce, Mr. Quoc believes that they have many strengths such as: being quick-witted, approaching problems quickly, learning about digital tools... But on the contrary, the patience of young people today is quite weak. The trend that is often seen is that students graduate and work for a few months but due to many factors, they do not have enough patience and change jobs. Mr. Quoc said: "Job-hopping to many companies in a short time is a bad point on your CV when applying for a job". Mr. Quoc humorously said: "Is your generation a generation of surfing, surfing Facebook, surfing TikTok... you have to attract them in the first few seconds, otherwise they will surf and when they go to work, they surf because they are impatient...".

Experts attending the seminar

Based on his own experience, Mr. Quoc believes that young people need to increase their physical exercise. "There should be times during the day when you are away from your phone and social networks. Focusing less on them will help you practice perseverance, patience and professionalism at work," Mr. Quoc advised.

Also in the discussion, a logistics student expressed concern about how not being too familiar with technology will affect job opportunities. Sharing his own process of learning technology, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Phuong, Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, said that students should not be afraid of not being able to access technology. "Today's students are much more proficient than previous generations in using computers and phones. Therefore, they must continue to learn more and that is mandatory, especially for students majoring in logistics, maritime... which are always at the forefront," Associate Professor Phuong shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-doanh-nghiep-khong-tiep-nhan-sinh-vien-nam-nhat-thuc-tap-185240622165654705.htm