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Students who graduated from secondary school attend an electricity class at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College. Photo: VNA

The COVID-19 economic shutdown, while necessary, has undoubtedly affected the financial situation of consumers all over the world.

In Vietnam, from January to September, 31.8 million people aged 15 and above were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, either becoming jobless or having their working hours and salaries seriously slashed.

The service sector was hardest hit, with 68.9 percent of workers clobbered by the outbreak, followed by industry and construction, with 66.4 percent of workers affected. The rate in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector was 27 percent.

Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO)’s Population and Labour Statistics Department, Vu Thi Thu Thuy, said the pandemic may have taken away the opportunity for some 1.8 million people to join the labour market.

The coronavirus pandemic and changing economy is why the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has cooperated with the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET), Departments of Labour invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes in eight provinces to offer short training courses for impacted workers.

Target trainees are unemployed persons or underemployed workers who are at high risks of losing their job due to COVID-19.

The two-month training courses focus on industrial occupations including mechanics, industrial electrics and electronics, plumbing, building electronics, automotive and wastewater treatment.

The training programmes for these occupations have been piloted at 11 TVET institutes since 2017 within the scope of the Vietnamese-German programme “Reform of TVET in Vietnam”.

More jobs were created in the third quarter of this year. However, more work must be done to create more jobs and achieve full employment. Photo: VNA

According to Nguyen Phan Anh Quoc, Rector of Ninh Thuan Vocational College, one of the TVET institutes offering the courses, these demand-oriented programmes follow a modular approach and are based on German standards. They can be quickly adjusted into short-term training courses and disseminated by the TVET institutes.

“The courses are offered by well-trained and highly competent teachers using modern machines supported by the German development cooperation,” Quoc said.

“The short-term courses rapidly equip trainees with technical skills and allow them to return to employment and thus improve their livelihoods. A well-trained labour force will also significantly help companies contribute to economic recovery," said Dr. Juergen Hartwig, GIZ programme director.

Besides free tuition fee, trainees will also be supported with food, travel and accommodation allowance.

After successful completion of training, they will be granted with a certificate. The courses are running in October and November 2020, benefiting at least 1.000 people affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.

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