Program No. 02/2003/CT-BLDTBXH On the tasks for the academic year 2003-2004 of the vocational training sector

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the academic year 2003-2004 tasks of the vocational training sector

With the investment and guidance of the Party and State, the efforts of the entire sector, the active participation of relevant sectors, the Front, mass organizations, and the whole society, the vocational training sector has successfully completed the assigned tasks for the academic year 2002-2003, creating new developments both in scale and quality. A total of 1,005,000 people were enrolled in vocational training, exceeding the target and increasing by 13% compared to the academic year 2001-2002; the network of vocational training institutions continued to expand, the teaching staff made progress; 21 new vocational schools and many vocational centers in districts and counties were established; the quality of training significantly improved; many industries and trades met the requirements of production, business, and the labor market; at the fourth ASEAN Skills Competition in 2002, the Vietnamese team won eight medals of various types, ranking second overall among the eight participating countries; new factors and effective vocational training models emerged, such as the model of continuous vocational education at different levels, vocational training for ethnic minority youth living in dormitories and on the move, short-term vocational training for rural workers, and the development of modular vocational training programs...

Achieving results in the past academic year is commendable, although further efforts are still needed to develop vocational training commensurate with the requirements of human resource training for the country's economic and social development during the period of industrialization and modernization.

The academic year 2003-2004 is of great importance, providing conditions to achieve the goals of the five-year plan 2001-2005, serving as a solid foundation for implementing vocational training objectives in the education and training development strategy 2001-2010.

To implement the Resolution of the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Conclusion of the Sixth Plenum (Ninth Term) and the Government's Action Program, it is proposed that all Ministries, sectors, provinces, cities, management agencies at all levels, and vocational training institutions focus on directing and effectively implementing the main tasks as follows:

1. Maximizing the capacity of existing vocational training institutions while mobilizing all resources to strengthen investment in infrastructure and equipment to ensure that all vocational training institutions, including newly established ones, start operations and meet and exceed the vocational training targets for 2003, which is 1,070,000 workers, including 165,000 long-term trained workers; focusing on vocational training for rural areas and export labor, strongly implementing the residential vocational training program for ethnic youth;

2. Continuing to vigorously implement the planning of the vocational school network, striving to have at least one vocational school in every locality by the end of 2003; adjusting the vocational training institution network in terms of scale, industry structure, and training level to suit the economic and social development conditions and orientation of each sector and locality; simultaneously investing in upgrading the technical facilities of vocational schools; developing district-level vocational centers, especially in regions with rapidly developing industry, services, and tourism, and specialized crop export zones.

3. Continuing to reform the content and curriculum of vocational training towards being closely aligned with production realities and advanced technological standards, while ensuring interconnectivity between different levels of vocational training. In the academic year 2003-2004, complete the development of vocational training programs for some common trades and issue general subject curricula for long-term vocational training. Vocational training institutions need to proactively review, adjust, and recompile vocational training programs according to the above orientation.

4. Implementing the "Regulations on the Use and Training of Vocational Teachers": Supplementing the vocational teacher workforce (especially for new trades); focusing on standardizing the current vocational teacher workforce; actively organizing regular updates on professional knowledge, new technologies, practical production experiences, and enhancing pedagogical skills for vocational teachers; emphasizing the training of new teaching methods that promote learners' initiative and proactiveness.

5. Improving the management machinery for vocational training at all levels, particularly the vocational training management departments under the provincial Departments of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs; enhancing the capabilities of managers at vocational training institutions and state management levels regarding vocational training.

6. Continuing to develop policies for vocational training, focusing on several policies such as: reforming the financial management mechanism for vocational training; setting cost standards for vocational training; policies for vocational training for farmers, especially in specialized farming areas and areas rapidly reducing agricultural land due to urbanization, for ethnic youth, and persons with disabilities.

7. Further promoting the movement of excellence in "teaching well - learning well", building a healthy educational environment, eliminating social evils in vocational training institutions. Organizing well the vocational student excellence competition, teaching demonstration sessions, and vocational equipment self-made competitions at all levels, based on initiating competitive movements from the grassroots level, actively preparing all necessary conditions to successfully organize the fifth ASEAN Skills Competition in Vietnam in 2004.

Building on the positive achievements in 2002-2003, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs requests all Ministries, sectors, and People's Committees of centrally governed cities to direct, inspect, and urge management agencies and subordinate vocational training institutions to successfully accomplish the tasks of the academic year 2003-2004.

This Directive shall be disseminated throughout the vocational training sector, from management agencies to all cadres and teachers of vocational training institutions for thorough understanding and implementation.