Regulations on vocational education and vocational skills development according to Vietnamese law

Vocational education and career development are two important aspects of preparing learners to enter the workforce effectively. So how are these two contents recognized by labor law? Is it necessary to sign a vocational training contract? What are the roles and responsibilities of the parties in the contract?

CSPL: Articles 59, 60, 61, 62 Labor Code 2019

1. Vocational training and vocational skills development

– Employees are free to choose vocational training, participate in assessment and recognition of national vocational skills, and develop vocational capacity in accordance with their employment needs and abilities.

– The State has policies to encourage employers to have sufficient conditions to provide vocational training and develop vocational skills for employees working for them and other workers in society through the following activities:

+ Establishing vocational education establishments or opening vocational training classes at the workplace to train, retrain, foster, and improve qualifications and vocational skills for workers; Coordinate with vocational education institutions to train primary, intermediate, college levels and other vocational training programs according to regulations;

+ Organize vocational skills tests for workers; Participate in vocational skills council; forecasting demand and developing vocational skills standards; organize assessment and recognition of vocational skills; develop professional capacity for workers.

2. Responsibilities of employers for training, fostering, improving qualifications and vocational skills

– Employers develop annual plans and allocate funds for training, fostering, improving qualifications, vocational skills, and developing vocational skills for employees working for them; Training for workers before moving to another job for themselves.

– Every year, employers notify the results of training, fostering, improving qualifications and vocational skills to the specialized labor agency under the Provincial People’s Committee.

3. Vocational training and vocational training to work for an employer

– Vocational training to work for an employer means the employer recruits people for vocational training at the workplace. Vocational training time follows the training program of each level according to the provisions of the Vocational Education Law.

– Vocational training to work for an employer means the employer recruits people to guide work practice and vocational training according to the job position at the workplace. The duration of the internship is no more than 03 months.

– Employers who recruit people for vocational training or vocational training to work for them are not required to register for vocational education activities; Tuition fees are not collected; must sign a training contract according to the provisions of the Vocational Education Law.

– Apprentices and trainees must be 14 years of age or older and must be in good health in accordance with vocational training and apprenticeship requirements. Apprentices and trainees in the list of occupations and jobs that are heavy, toxic, dangerous or especially heavy, toxic and dangerous issued by the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs must be at least 18 years old, except in the fields of arts, physical education and sports.

– During the apprenticeship or vocational training period, if the apprentice or trainee directly or participates in labor, the employer will pay a salary according to the rate agreed upon by both parties.

– At the end of the vocational training period, both parties must sign a labor contract when all the prescribed conditions are met.

4. Vocational training contract between employer and employee and vocational training costs

– Both parties must sign a vocational training contract in case workers are trained to improve their qualifications, vocational skills, or retrain domestically or abroad from the employer’s funds, including funds sponsored by partners for the employer.

– The vocational training contract must be made into 02 copies, each party keeps 01 copy.

– Vocational training contracts must have the following main contents:

+ Vocational training;

+ Location, time and salary during training period;

+ Time commitment to work after training;

+ Training costs and responsibility to reimburse training costs;

+ Responsibilities of the employer;

+ Responsibilities of the employee.

– Training costs include the following: Expenditures with valid documents on expenses paid to teachers, learning materials, schools, classrooms, machines, equipment, practice materials, other expenses to support learners and salaries, social insurance premiums, health insurance, unemployment insurance for learners during school time. In case the employee is sent for training abroad, the training cost also includes travel costs and living expenses during the training period.