Vietnam lacks high-quality IT human resources

That is the opinion of education and technology experts at the workshop "Decoding the paradox of the Technology industry: "Eagles knock on the door but human resources close the door" on November 1 by Aptech International Programmer Training System and relevant units.

Statistics from TopDev show that up to 65% of information technology (IT) students upon graduation do not meet the requirements of businesses. Most new IT students have limited time to get acquainted with practical programming technologies. Most of the study time at universities is still divided into general, basic and internship subjects. In advanced countries such as the US, UK or Korea, students learn programming early, before entering university they are familiar with Python, Java...

Mr. To Hong Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology (Ministry of Education and Training) said that the key factor in digital transformation is human resources, especially high-quality IT human resources. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training has developed a project to develop high-quality human resources for the digital technology industry, expected to be submitted to the Prime Minister in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Mr. To Hong Nam, there is currently a paradox that many IT graduates are still unemployed while businesses cannot find human resources to meet their needs. To solve this problem, Mr. To Hong Nam proposed implementing IT training right from high school level and even earlier, so that students are equipped with a foundation of knowledge about STEM, programming and logical thinking early on.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Giang, General Secretary of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA), said that Vietnam has great potential with a young workforce that is passionate about technology and good at mathematics. However, to turn abundant human resources into high-quality resources requires a lot of time, investment and a clear training strategy.

IBM Vietnam representative, Mr. Ngo Xuan Hien, said that when IBM opened a software outsourcing center in Vietnam in 2002, although it expected to increase the number of programmers, the reality was that finding skilled programmers was a big challenge. After more than a decade, the number of programmers has increased but the quality problem still exists, especially communication and teamwork skills.

Experts also believe that Vietnam needs to focus on an IT training model like in developed countries, in which the curriculum is reasonably distributed between levels, to help students have an IT foundation before entering university. For example, in the high school education program in the US and UK, computer science is required with knowledge streams on technology applications and computer science, helping students get acquainted with basic programming technologies and determine their career direction in the IT field early.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, a technology expert, said that it is time for Vietnam to be ready to “open the door” to welcome “technology giants” to invest and cooperate. He emphasized that technology does not discriminate by age, and young Vietnamese people are fully capable of absorbing technology quickly. However, there needs to be a change in training thinking and a sense of autonomy in learning, not just chasing after degrees but also making efforts to improve professional quality and soft skills.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Hien informed that the income for a newly graduated programmer can be up to 40 - 50 million VND, showing the attractiveness of the IT industry to the labor market. However, to achieve good job positions, students need to constantly update technology trends, understand the requirements of large corporations and actively participate in technology playgrounds. This helps students not only get acquainted with the international IT environment but also equip themselves with practical skills.

According to VNA

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/viet-nam-thieu-hut-nhan-luc-cong-nghe-thong-tin-chat-luong-cao/20241102083213673