Shortage of high-quality tourism human resources

SGGPO October 28, 2023 19:40

60-80% of newly graduated candidates must be retrained to adapt to the job; in which work attitude and foreign language proficiency are the candidates' "weakest" skills.

On October 28, Saigon University organized the National Scientific Conference “Training international-level human resources in the tourism industry: Current status and solutions”. At this event, many opinions pointed out that Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general are lacking high-quality tourism human resources.

Vietravel tour guide is leading a group of tourists to visit Taiwan (China)

Speaking at the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Le Chi Lan, Vice Rector of Saigon University, said that in the process of international integration and globalization, tourism has become the "key" to promote the economic, cultural and social development of the country. Vietnam has many important potentials to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector of the country. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City is the major economic, political and cultural center of the country, with many advantages for tourism development.

However, Ms. Le Chi Lan admitted that the tourism industry is being affected by many regional and global factors. Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general are lacking high-quality tourism human resources, so they need special attention from all levels of the industry.

Delegates attending the workshop on October 28

Sharing privately with SGGP reporters on the sidelines of the conference, some tourism businesses in Ho Chi Minh City admitted that 60-80% of newly graduated candidates must be retrained to be able to adapt to the job, some businesses even retrain up to 90%; in which work attitude, foreign language proficiency... are the candidates' "weakest" skills.

Sharing the same opinion as above, Prof. Dr. Truong Quang Vinh, working at Long An University of Economics and Industry, cited that in the 2019 Annual Report on Vietnam Tourism, there are more than 2.5 million workers working in the tourism sector.

Of these, there are about 860,000 direct workers, of which 45% are trained in tourism, 35% are trained in other majors, and 20% are untrained... After the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of these workers has decreased significantly, so they need to be supplemented urgently to meet the actual situation.

However, the paradox is that tourism human resources provided by training institutions do not meet professional and skill requirements.

“People with experience and expertise have not been trained, while those who have been fully trained in professional expertise are not yet able to work immediately and need retraining in businesses,” said Professor Truong Quang Vinh.

To improve the quality of training so that graduates can work immediately, Mr. Truong Quang Vinh suggested building a human resource training model based on the capacity and needs of the tourism market.

In which, the training institution plays a coordinating role, responsible for participating in organizing and managing student internships at enterprises, researching the tourism market and applying it to teaching...

The coordination between training institutions and tourism enterprises is considered a condition to ensure the existence and development of both parties (training institutions - tourism enterprises). For students, it is necessary to proactively improve professional capacity, practical attitude, etc.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thieu-hut-nguon-nhan-luc-du-lich-chat-luong-cao-post711789.html