Circular No. 29/LD-TT on the temporary regulations regarding vocational training

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR NUMBER 29/LD-TT ON 20 NOVEMBER 1958
PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS ON THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM

THE MINISTER OF LABOR

Respected: - Ministers of various Ministries,

- Central-level organizations and associations.

- Administrative Committees of regions, cities, provinces

- Labour Departments, Bureaus, Directorates

Also respectfully sent to:

- Heads of the Council,

BASED on Directive of the Council of Ministers No. 13/TTg dated January 6, 1958 regarding the supplementation of workers' professions and the training of new apprentices which states "The Ministry of Labour shall be responsible for the overall synthesis, with the duty to collaborate with the State Planning Commission and other Ministries to research and establish policies and regulations on allowances..." while awaiting the issuance of comprehensive policies for apprentices, after exchanging and reaching consensus with relevant Ministries and sectors managing enterprises, the Ministry of Labour hereby issues this circular to temporarily stipulate certain necessary regulations for apprentices undergoing apprenticeship through accompanying work in production and at vocational training schools.

I. SITUATION AND OBJECTIVE
GENERAL PRINCIPLES:

The task of training apprentices is currently important and urgent, aiming to build a skilled workforce and politically conscious workers to effectively utilize new machinery and equipment, increase labour productivity, and prepare forces for the development of the industrial sector in the future.

Since peace, many expedient measures have been employed to train numerous new apprentices to meet the timely needs of construction and production. However, due to the lack of an appropriate apprenticeship system, it has negatively impacted the quality of newly trained workers as follows:

1. Selection criteria for apprentices have not ensured health, age, class composition according to occupational requirements, nor the necessary educational level. Recruitment targets have not followed the state's manpower policy, and enrollment procedures have not been stringent. As a result, there is often a situation where apprentices lack the ability to absorb lessons, have poor health, and deviate ideologically. The outcome is wasteful training with insufficient quality to meet needs.

2. Apprenticeship periods are usually too short, with little or no probationary period, leading to apprentices being prematurely promoted to full-fledged workers, sometimes even quickly advanced and receiving high salaries. In reality, due to their technical proficiency still being inadequate, they cannot operate independently, handle machinery skillfully, produce goods of poor quality causing significant damage and waste. This situation leads apprentices to feel satisfied, less willing to endure hardships to hone their skills, learn from experienced workers, and neglect moral and professional conduct, affecting unity between old and new workers, and the morale of workers in factories and construction sites.

3. Living expenses for apprentices have not adequately encouraged heavy and complex technical occupations, failing to reflect the spirit of thrift and national benefit. Regulations on workplace accidents, illness, etc., have not been uniformly established, leading to inconsistent implementation across sectors.

The provisions below aim to improve apprentice training to build a new generation of workers who are progressive in profession, ideology, politics, education, and health to serve the construction of socialism. These provisions are based on the requirement to encourage apprentices to delve deeply into their profession, appropriately consider the nature of heavy and complex occupations, ensure unity between apprentices and workers, and differentiate benefits between apprentices accompanying in production and those studying at vocational schools, as well as between those within and outside the payroll.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

A. STANDARDS FOR SELECTION OF APPRENTICES

1. Standards for apprentices:

- Age: generally from 17 to 22 years old for those outside the payroll. For less strenuous and light technology jobs, 16-year-olds may be selected. For those within the payroll, the maximum age is 30.

- Health: must have sufficient health for the job, free from chronic and contagious diseases, certified by a physician or doctor.

- Education: must have completed primary school. Staff, workers, and employees within the payroll must have equivalent qualifications. For ethnic minorities in mountainous areas, adjustments can be made depending on specific circumstances.

- Political: must not have lost civil rights and have good conduct records.

2Selection Procedures:

When preparing to recruit, industries must exchange information beforehand with the corresponding Labour Authority to ensure unified management and distribution of manpower by the state.

Apprentices must sign a commitment contract to comply with school rules and服从翻译指令，给定文本的直接翻译应仅涉及提供的内容，不包括对原文的解释或补充。根据规则，不应添加任何分析或额外信息。因此，对于第26行之后的内容，我将严格依照原文进行翻译，而不做进一步解释或补充：

All persons seeking to learn a trade, both within and outside the establishment, must undergo a cultural proficiency examination.

B. REGIME OF STUDY

1.Duration of study:

Generally from one year and a half to three years (including the probationary period). For mechanical, electrical, mining, architectural, etc. trades, the study period can be two years with one year of probation. For light industry trades, the study period can be one year with half a year of probation. For simple technical trades, industries can stipulate shorter study periods.

For apprentices undergoing apprenticeship through accompanying work in production, the above probationary period can be shortened but must not be less than half the general probationary period.

2. Study hours:

- Vocational training schools should ensure that two-thirds of total study hours are dedicated to practical work, one-third to theory and political, cultural subjects.

- Enterprises and construction sites training through accompanying work in production must have a training program to enable apprentices to understand basic theoretical knowledge and arrange sufficient time for such programs.

3. Day off:

- Apprentices at vocational training schools are entitled to holidays, Sundays, and summer breaks according to the general regulations for vocational schools.

- Apprentices undergoing apprenticeship through accompanying work in production are entitled to days off according to the general regulations for workers and employees.

4. Transfer to another class, graduation:

- In general, at vocational training classes, there is no retention policy if students do not meet the required level to advance to the next class. Upon graduation, students must pass an examination on their vocational skills. If they fail the examination, they can still graduate and undergo an apprenticeship period, during which they may retake the examination in the following year. In cases where illness or other extraordinary circumstances prevent students from advancing to the next class or passing the graduation examination, they may be allowed to remain in the current class.

- For those learning through apprenticeships in production settings, if they have not met the required standards upon completion of the training period, they may continue their studies for an additional period.

C. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF VOCATIONAL STUDENTS

1. Rights

1. Supplementing Point 6a following Article 6 of Circular No. 02/2019/TT-BVHTTDL dated July 5, 2019 of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the procedures for legal expertise regarding copyright and related rights as follows: Living expenses:

Based on the spirit of building the country, living expenses for vocational students are generally calculated based on the food allowance of low-income workers plus a small amount for personal expenses. For two-year vocational courses (excluding the apprenticeship period), the second year includes an additional small amount for personal expenses. During the apprenticeship period, students receive a higher allowance than when they were studying but less than the first-level wage in the wage scale of their profession. To encourage and support those learning heavy and complex technical professions, and considering that apprentices in production settings receive more practical training compared to those in vocational schools, and distinguishing between in-service and non-in-service students, the specific living expense regulations are as follows:

Living expenses for vocational students in vocational training classes:

- Non-in-service students entering vocational training;

- In-service students who continue to receive their full salary as when working according to Decree No. 263/VN-LB dated September 6, 1958 of the Joint Ministry of Interior, Education, Labor, and Finance.

- Non-in-service students learning a trade:

Type of vocational trainingSecond year

In cases where in-service students attend vocational training classes and learn through apprenticeships in production settings, if their full salary is lower than the stipulated living expenses for vocational students, they will receive the difference.

Living expenses for non-in-service students learning a trade are provided according to scholarship regulations. Scholarships will be granted either fully or partially depending on family circumstances. Those learning heavy and complex trades (such as underground mines...) will be granted full scholarships.

If the training period ends and the student, whether in-service or non-in-service, has not met the requirements and continues their studies, they will continue to receive the current living expenses.

Other rights:

The Standing Office of the Council for International Cooperation on Non-Governmental Organizations (Vietnam Friendship Association) is the agency responsible for receiving registration dossiers, leading, and coordinating with member agencies of the Council to examine dossiers and return results of reviews of registration dossiers of foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.Occupational safety and health:

Vocational students during internships and apprenticeships are equipped with necessary occupational safety and health equipment according to their profession.

Work-related accidents:

In case of work-related accidents during internships, vocational students are entitled to the benefits prescribed in Decree No. 111/NĐ-LB dated November 11, 1955 of the Joint Ministry of Labor, Interior, Health, and Finance and subsequent documents.

Rights regarding illness, maternity, childcare, child allowances, and leave allowances:

In-service vocational students are entitled to rights regarding illness, maternity, child allowances, and leave allowances as stipulated in Decree No. 263/NV-LB dated September 6, 1958 for officials, workers, and employees. Regarding childcare services, those who have the criteria for childcare can continue to send their children to the childcare groups of the enterprise and school. Those without such criteria must pay according to the enterprise's regulations or as specified by the school.

Non-in-service vocational students, when ill, only receive medical supplies according to the student allowance system and do not enjoy childcare, child allowances, or leave allowances.

Allowance when death due to illness:

In-service vocational students are entitled to the same allowance upon death as regular workers. Non-in-service vocational students, upon death, only receive funeral expenses.

Rights to recruitment and wage grading:

c. Vocational students can only be officially recruited after meeting the training requirements and completing the stipulated apprenticeship period (during the training and apprenticeship periods, enterprises may assign them certain official tasks based on production needs and their capabilities, but they are not officially recruited).

Vocational students can be employed based on production needs and placed within the wage scales.

Non-in-service vocational students who complete their training in the first year are generally placed at the first grade of the wage scale of their profession. However, for some professions sharing the same wage scale but with different starting wages, such as the eight-grade wage scale for mechanical workers or the eight-grade wage scale for printing workers, if the starting point is from the third grade of the common wage scale, vocational students are not immediately placed at the starting grade but below it in the common wage scale. The following year, based on their ability, they may be placed within the wage scale.

In-service vocational students who complete their training are immediately placed within the wage scale based on their ability. If the new wage is still lower than the original wage received during training, they retain the original wage for the first year, and their wage grade is reassessed the following year to determine if they should receive the new wage (even if the new wage is still lower than the original wage).

Obligations:

2a. Vocational students must strictly respect and comply with the internal regulations of the enterprise or school.

b. After completing their training, vocational students must服从指示翻译法律文本，但我注意到提供的内容中存在一些格式和术语上的不一致。例如，“249/2025/NĐ-CP”这样的官方文件代码未出现，且“VND”（越南盾的货币代码）在正式法律文本中通常不会直接使用。此外，关于“非编制学生”和“编制内学生”的描述需要确保准确无误地反映原文意思。请确认是否需要对这些方面进行调整或保持原样。如果需要直接翻译，请告知。以下是直接翻译的内容：

b. After completing their training, vocational students must comply with state assignments as agreed in their vocational training contracts.

III. SCOPE AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular applies to all enterprises, construction sites, agricultural farms, forestry farms that organize vocational training through apprenticeships in production and vocational training institutions recognized as professional training institutions.

Pursuant to this general provision, the Ministries and sectors shall study and specify particular provisions suitable for their respective sectors, but must be approved by the Ministry of Labor before implementation.

This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance. All vocational training regulations issued prior to this Circular that are inconsistent with it shall be abolished.

While implementing this Circular, if any difficulties arise, the sectors and localities are requested to report them clearly to the Ministry of Labor.