ABSTRACT
Complementing existing Western models for developing soft skills for higher-education students, this chapter will report on models that six Vietnamese universities developed to train students in soft skills. Content analysis of relevant documents and 69 interviews with key informants revealed that despite a shared conceptualization of developing work readiness for students, the soft-skills policy was executed with disparities between the universities in terms of implementation scale, key players, and pedagogical practices. Based on the differences, three models were identified. The analysis also showed that curriculum autonomy, university leadership, and connection with external stakeholders were pivotal for the adoption of these models.
