Skills2Thrive

A sustainable model providing experiential skills training to equip rural and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam with sought-after technical and soft skills for jobs in growing sectors. Offers an affordable alternative to traditional higher or vocational education and forges direct connections to jobs. Adapts innovative model from Philippines (Bagosphere) to Vietnam.

Youth unemployment is soaring in Vietnam:   

• In 2016, youth unemployment among 15-to-24 was 3x higher than national unemployment rate.

Employers cite lack of skilled labor:

• In 2014 survey, 80% of professional employers and 83% of technical employers reported young applicants lack required skills.
• 62% of Vietnamese employers cite difficulties in filling job vacancies.

Higher education is failing, particularly for rural and disadvantaged:

• One in five unemployed people in Vietnam has a higher degree.
• A third of Vietnam's 900,000 high school graduates didn't apply to university in 2017. In 2017, university degrees failed to net jobs for over 200,000 graduates.

In Vietnam there is a huge disconnect between education and the job market. Global evidence shows that (1) successful skills training programs must be demand driven by employers and link students directly to jobs and (2) more focus is needed on soft skills. Employment statistics and outcomes from Vietnam’s higher education system demonstrate the urgent need for an alternative approach to connect youth to jobs. 

This evidence suggests that our model, which is demand-led from employers, uses a human-centered design approach, and trains for a holistic set of skills, will increase employment and economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. 

The primary impact of our solution will be job placement, retention, and income for disadvantaged youth with a focus on women.

• 80-85% job placement rate
• 85% of youth remain employed after 3 and 6 months
• Graduates earn 2x income than before the program
• At least 60% of youth recruited, trained and placed are female
• 100% of youth recruited, trained, and placed come from rural areas in Vietnam

Track number of students who complete the program - Completion rate

Track number of students with jobs secured 1 and 3 months after training - Placement rate

Track number of students who are still employed 3 and 6 months after training - Retention

Business model: programs in Vietnam lack a sustainable model. We will develop a self-sustaining business model with revenue generated from student fees paid either through loan facilitation or cross-subisidization, and employer payments.

Target population: high school and university graduates. Most programs target one or the other, limiting high school graduates to low-skill jobs.

Curriculum and partnerships: blended curriculum that combines online with in-person learning and partners directly with employers.

Regional innovation: links with others in region through our partnership with Bagosphere.  

Our model will be human-centered both from the perspective of youth and employers. In selecting industries to work with, we will survey targeted youth to better understand the types of skills and jobs they seek. We will adapt our training program to meet the learning needs and styles of our target students. In developing curricula, we will work directly with employers to understand the needs they face and train accordingly, iterating the process over time to be responsive to dynamic changes in the market and workforce.

We have supported disadvantaged youth in Vietnam to access education for 15+ years. We have an extensive network of partners in 12 provinces in Vietnam (Study Promotion Associations – organizations in Vietnam with strong grassroots networks nationwide). We will ensure accessibility by working with them to publicize our program and recruit youth. We will deliver the program through school or government facilities to save costs and increase accessibility.

EMW has extensive experience facilitating access to credit. We will use this experience to develop a micro-loan scheme for youth or develop a cross-subsidization approach to ensure affordability. 

Currently in the research and pilot stage, our focus will be on testing and proving a viable business model. We plan to incubate the model through EMW, and then establish a stand-alone social enterprise. In the short-term, we will pursue the following revenue-generation strategies:

• Fees from students (made affordable either through access to micro-loans or through cross-subsidization).

As well as the following in-kind contributions to keep costs low:

• Training of trainers approach from employer partners
• Physical space from government and school partners

In the longer-term, we see potential for financial sustainability through:

• Employer payments for job placements
• Licensing or contracting out the program to the government (government schools, TVET, universities) or private sector (other NGOs, private schools). 

Employer buy-in is crucial to success: Securing employer commitments to input on training curricula, share vacancies and skills needs, and commit to interview students is a pre-requisite to a successful model.

Education mindset: long-standing cultural beliefs in Vietnam result in preference for higher education over skills training (now changing due to unemployment rates among university graduates).

Building reputation of our program: a new training program will take time to build reputation among target youth. 

We believe our approach has the potential to create a transformative and sustainable impact on education and employment in Vietnam – an area currently in crisis. We see alignment with Solve’s mission to identify and support catalytic ideas in the area of youth development. Thrive/EMW brings decades of implementation and education experience in rural Vietnam, and combines this with technical assistance from an established and innovative model (Bagosphere) in the Philippines.  We hope to strengthen our model and successfully pilot through support from Solve’s mentors and resources, emphasizing:

• Forging connections with employer partners
• Developing sustainable business model 

Bagosphere

No current direct competitors in Vietnam.