Circular No. 14/2022/TT-BLDTBXH on vocational counseling, employment services, and support for students to start businesses in vocational education institutions

CIRCULAR

Regulations on vocational counseling, employment services, and support for students to start businesses in vocational education institutions

_________

Pursuant to the Law on Vocational Education dated November 27, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 14/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017, of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2019/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2019, of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Vocational Education;

Based on the proposal of the Director General of the General Department of Vocational Education;

The Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs issues this Circular to regulate vocational counseling, employment services, and support for students to start businesses in vocational education institutions. 

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates vocational counseling, employment services, and support for entrepreneurship for trainees, students, and pupils (hereinafter referred to collectively as learners) in vocational education institutions.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Circular applies to colleges, secondary vocational schools, vocational training centers (hereinafter referred to as vocational education institutions), and related organizations and individuals.

2. This Circular does not apply to teacher training schools under the management authority of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Vocational counseling in vocational education is an activity aimed at enhancing learners' understanding of their fields of study, the labor market demand for these fields; assisting learners in selecting appropriate fields of study and levels of education that match their abilities, strengths, and personal aspirations.

2. Employment counseling in vocational education includes activities that help learners obtain information about job opportunities from the labor market, improve their ability and chances to find suitable jobs based on their skills, specialties, strengths, and personal aspirations; learners receive free counseling services at vocational education institutions.

3. Entrepreneurship support in vocational education involves promoting the entrepreneurial spirit among learners and equipping them with knowledge and skills necessary for entrepreneurship during their time at vocational education institutions; creating an environment to support learners in starting businesses; facilitating conditions for learners to develop and actualize their business ideas and projects and create their own jobs after graduation.

Article 4. Principles of Implementation

1. The contents and activities of vocational counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support must be appropriate to the age, understanding, field of study, and level of education of the learners.

2. Training, instruction, and skill development activities for learners as stipulated in this Circular shall not affect the curriculum of vocational education institutions.

3. Vocational counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support must be learner-centered; aligned with learners' needs and for their benefit; and based on labor market demands, job opportunities, and the development of learners' skills.

4. Ensuring material resources and equipment to serve vocational counseling, employment services, and support for learners starting businesses; developing and expanding shared workspaces and spaces to support learners in starting businesses.

5. Ensuring human resources to carry out vocational counseling, employment services, and support for learners starting businesses in vocational education institutions; encouraging the establishment of centers or departments within functional offices without increasing staff or organizational structures to implement vocational counseling, employment services, and support for learners starting businesses in vocational education institutions; encouraging the formation of networks of professional counselors in vocational counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support who possess skills, experience, dynamism, and passion for their work.

6. Ensuring the provision of programs and materials on vocational counseling, employment services, entrepreneurship, and necessary skills for learners and ensuring the origin of such materials.

Chapter II
VOCATIONAL COUNSELING WORK

Article 5. Purpose

1. Assist learners to self-recognize their abilities, interests, strengths, and career aspirations; have knowledge and understanding of the occupational world, job opportunities in society; future industry and occupation trends to choose suitable fields of study.

2. Enhance learners' awareness about occupational attitudes, professional ethics, and planning for academic study and career skill development.

3. Contribute to a significant shift in the guidance of secondary and high school graduates towards vocational education levels that meet national and local socio-economic development requirements.

Article 6. Career Counseling

1. Provide career counseling and orientation to learners interested in vocational education: On the importance of choosing a field of study; methods to identify personal strengths and nurture career dreams; training programs and levels; information on the network of vocational education institutions; policies and regulations when choosing a profession; labor market demands.

2. Provide career counseling and orientation to learners currently studying at vocational education institutions: On methods and skills to plan future career paths; necessary skills for learners to form occupational attitudes, professional ethics, and academic study plans; labor policies directly related to the training program; recruitment information from employers regarding the learner's current field of study.

3. Provide career counseling and orientation to graduates who wish to pursue different fields or higher levels of education: On training programs and levels; information on the network of vocational education institutions; skills for flexible adaptation and transition.

4. Other career counseling contents in accordance with legal provisions.

Article 7. Forms of Implementation of Career Counseling Work

1. Organize career counseling and vocational guidance programs, journeys, and career days for learners.

2. Organize seminars, conferences, forums, and discussion sessions on career counseling and vocational guidance.

3. Organize training and capacity building activities for learners through club, team, group activities related to occupations; extracurricular activities, experiences, and exchanges at vocational education institutions and workplaces.

4. Organize competitions to understand the occupational world and career counseling through lessons and vocational guidance programs.

5. Provide career counseling information to learners through video clips, images; through literature, publications, and media.

6. Organize training, capacity building, and workshops to enhance the skills and capabilities of staff involved in vocational career counseling work.

7. Coordinate with youth organizations to implement career counseling activities for members, young people, and students.

8. Other forms in accordance with legal provisions.

Chapter III
CAREER COUNSELING WORK

Article 8. Objectives

1. Enhance students' understanding of employment trends in the labor market.

2. Assist students in developing the ability to seek and create their own jobs.

3. Advise on employment suitable for health; capability; strengths; aspirations; training fields and educational levels of students.

Article 9. Employment Counseling

1. Provide information about employment related to training fields; recruitment information; requirements of employers; labor policies and employment for students.

2. Advise, train, and develop students' skills in participating in interviews, job searching, and other work-related skills.

3. Advise students to choose appropriate jobs based on their health, capabilities, aspirations; connect them with employers to introduce employment opportunities.

4. Other employment counseling contents in accordance with legal regulations.

Article 10. Forms of Implementation for Employment Counseling Work

1. Organize employment counseling programs, job fairs, recruitment activities of enterprises, and employment counseling activities connecting students with employers.

2. Organize training and development for students' skills in participating in interviews, job searching, and other work-related skills through club activities, seminars, forums, training courses, extracurricular activities, visits, and practical experiences at employers.

3. Provide employment counseling information for students through video clips, images; via documents, publications, and media.

4. Guide students to utilize recruitment information databases of employers, labor market information, evaluate skills, attitudes, and adaptability to the labor market.

5. Other forms as prescribed by law.

Chapter IV
STARTUP SUPPORT WORK

Article 11. Objectives

1. Promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and self-employment among students at vocational education institutions; equip students with knowledge and skills for entrepreneurship to be confident, proactive, and creative in starting businesses, and proactively create employment after graduation.

2. Enhance the capacity of vocational education institutions in training, developing, and supporting students in entrepreneurship and self-employment.

3. Create a favorable environment to support students in vocational education institutions in forming and realizing startup ideas and projects, contributing to creating employment for students after graduation; strengthen socialized resources, attract the participation of enterprises, organizations, and individuals in supporting entrepreneurial activities and self-employment of students at vocational education institutions.

Article 12. Entrepreneurship Support

1. Publicize and educate students about the role and importance of entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity, and self-employment; update global education trends; local, national, and international entrepreneurship education programs; state policies supporting entrepreneurship; incubators, startup spaces, and entrepreneurship support funds both domestically and internationally.

2. Train and develop students' knowledge and skills for entrepreneurship; enhance the capacity of staff and teachers involved in supporting student entrepreneurship.

3. Develop cooperation programs with enterprises, investment funds, investors, organizations, and individuals in supporting student entrepreneurship.

4. Develop business incubation programs, support students in forming and perfecting startup projects and ideas; advise, support, and connect students' startup projects with enterprises, investment funds, investors, organizations, and individuals.

5. Support, create conditions, and organize the Vocational Education Student Startup Kite Idea Contest.

6. Other entrepreneurship support contents in accordance with legal regulations.

Article 13. Forms of Implementing Entrepreneurship Support Work

1. Organizing propaganda and education on entrepreneurship for students through educational activities; video clips, images, publications; through documents and media.

2. Organizing contests, seminars, forums, roundtable discussions, entrepreneurship days, exchanges to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among vocational education students.

3. Building programs, materials, and organizing training, enhancement, providing knowledge and skills for entrepreneurship for students.

4. Building programs, materials, and organizing enhancement, training, workshops to improve business skills and capabilities for staff and teachers involved in supporting student entrepreneurship.

5. Establishing research clubs for science, innovation, and entrepreneurship for students in vocational education institutions; building networks of alumni who have participated in entrepreneurship.

6. Cooperating with businesses, organizations, and individuals to create an environment supporting entrepreneurship; organizing practical implementation, deployment of entrepreneurship projects, and connecting feasible student entrepreneurship projects with business incubation organizations.

7. Other forms as prescribed by law.

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Budget and Management, Use of Budget

1. The budget for implementing vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work is allocated from the state budget annually according to current state budget levels; from integrated funds in national target programs, other programs, and projects; income from public service activities and other sources as prescribed by law. The management and use of the budget shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents. For private vocational education institutions and vocational education institutions with foreign investment, the budget for implementing vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work is funded from the institution's income as prescribed by law.

2. Units implementing vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work may mobilize socialized resources to implement according to the provisions of the law.

Article 15. Responsibilities of the General Department of Vocational Education

1. Directing and guiding the organization to implement vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work as stipulated in this Circular.

2. Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant units to organize the implementation of vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work.

3. Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant units to organize inspections and supervision of the implementation of contents stipulated in this Circular.

Article 16. Responsibilities of the Managing Authority of Vocational Education Institutions

1. Guiding and directing subordinate vocational education institutions to build plans and organize the implementation of contents as stipulated in this Circular.

2. Organizing inspections of the implementation of contents stipulated in this Circular within its authority.

Article 17. Responsibilities of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

1. Building plans, submitting to the provincial People's Committee for approval of policies and budgets to organize the implementation of vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work.

2. Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant agencies and units to organize the implementation of vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work; inspecting and supervising the implementation of contents stipulated in this Circular at vocational education institutions within its authority in the locality.

3. Directing and guiding vocational education institutions to compile statistics on the number of graduates employed and the number of students starting their own businesses annually.

4. Regularly or ad hoc reporting results of vocational career counseling, employment services, and entrepreneurship support work implementation in the locality to the provincial People's Committee, municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (through the General Department of Vocational Education).

5. Performing other tasks as required.

Article 18. Responsibilities of vocational education institutions

1. Develop plans to implement the contents prescribed in this Circular in a practical and effective manner; allocate resources and organize vocational counseling, employment activities, and start-up support.

2. Support and create conditions for learners to participate in vocational counseling, employment, and start-up activities designed for learners at all levels. Survey and statistically record the number of graduates who find employment after graduation and the number of learners who start businesses annually.

3. Support and create conditions for staff and teachers to participate in and implement vocational counseling, employment activities, and start-up support.

4. Closely coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations, associations within vocational education institutions to mobilize and encourage learners to actively participate in activities related to professions, employment, and start-ups.

5. Implement and be subject to inspection by authorized agencies, and report on implementation results to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the managing agency annually or upon urgent request.

6. Perform other tasks as required.

Article 19. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from October 15, 2022.

2. During implementation, if there are difficulties, please reflect them to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (through the General Department of Vocational Education) for consideration and resolution./.