ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the current situation of the Vietnamese labour market with both its advantages and disadvantages. It discusses the characteristics of the Vietnamese labour market and presents the government frameworks for the education system. The chapter explores challenges of graduate work-readiness and examines how employers and educational institutions cope with such challenges. Vietnam had a potential labour market of over 54 million people in 2015, with an average 77 percent labour force participation rate. Employment in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector accounts for nearly 45 percent of total employment. The development of the Vietnamese economy is a result of three main reform pillars: promoting human resources/skills development; improving market institutions, and infrastructure development. Vietnam's labour productivity in 2013 was USD 5,440 higher than that of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos but lower than the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations.
