28-08-2009 HA NOI — The time is right for Viet Nam to tackle the shortage of qualified workers in the information and communication technology sector, according to Vice President of the Viet Nam Software Association Nguyen Dinh Thang.

Speaking at a seminar on national plans for human resources development held in the capital on Tuesday, Thang said that while the Government had tried to tackle the shortage of qualified ICT workers in 2004 with little success, conditions were now more favourable.

"Now the time is ripe," said Thang.

"Over the past five years, investment in education has not been significant while training for IT employees has been costly."

Thang said the Government’s new plan on training ICT workers, approved by the Prime Minister last June, had more potential to succeed.

"Indispensable conditions to better IT human resources, including international standard training, high-quality teachers and well equipped IT infrastructure were not readily available during the past several years," he said.

"How could we implement e-learning solution widely if internet access was limited.

"However, now we are gradually able to meet those conditions. In addition, the world is inclined to rely on developing countries to provide cheap and young workers."

The shortage of qualified workers is the biggest challenge for authorities in the sector. The nation’s new plan to solve the problem aims to create a breakthrough in the quality of ICT staff training to ensure adequate human resources for the development of ICT enterprises.

Currently there are 200,000 employees working in the IT industry, of which 80,000 specialised in software development and digital content, according to the white book containing statistics on the industry.

Thang said the current work force could meet only 60 per cent of domestic demand, not including that for skilled workers from foreign IT firms that had set up in Viet Nam.

According to the association’s report, the quality of new graduates is still low. Only 10-15 per cent of students can start work immediately without further training. The remainder must be retrained or switch to other occupations.

From now to 2015, Viet Nam targets to supply 250,000 specialised IT, electronics and telecommunications workers, with 50 per cent having a college or university degree.

There are 230 universities, colleges and vocational institutes which provide training for IT workers nationwide.

One of the more highly-regarded schools is the Ha Noi University of Technology, which runs the Higher Education Development and Support Project on Information and Communication Technology sponsored by the Japanese Government since 2006.

Objective

According to Kiyohito Gouba, the project’s chief advisor, the main objective of the project is to develop bridge engineers between Viet Nam and Japan who will have Japanese language and IT skills that meet standards in Japan. These students are expected to hold managerial positions in the future.

Each year, 100 to 120 outstanding students are admitted to courses run by the project and 20 per cent have a chance to study at one of two universities in Japan.

Other options for those wanting to study IT include a private university run by the Financing and Promoting Technology Corporation (FPT). There are 2,000 students enrolled at the university, which is dedicated to training IT engineers.

The FPT expects to receive 50,000 students by 2015, according to rector Le Truong Tung, adding that the university is equipped with modern IT facilities and teaches international accredited curriculum.

In the future, the FPT University aimed to provide a mass workforce for the whole industry, said Tung.

However, not all IT classes offer adequate training. Nguyen Minh Quang, a young lecturer from the Information Technology Department at the Ha Noi National University of Education, said he had found his studies at the Ha Noi University of Technology to be of limited value.

"Though I studied at one of the best universities in this field, I still found the curriculum too academic," said Quang.

"If I hadn’t been proactive and found part-time work at a web development firm, I wouldn’t have had enough practical experience to do my job."

Quang said the relationship between lecturers and students lacked adequate interaction.

"As a lecturer, I will try to be more interactive with students and keep my lessons up-to-date to cover the latest technology," he said. — VNS

 9/9/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is collecting people’s comments to finalise its scheme to turn Vietnam into a powerful country in the information technology field.

According to the draft scheme, Vietnam will rank 70th on the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) ranking list of IT by 2015; the IT sector will account for 17-20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) the same year; and the annual growth rate of the IT industry will be 2-3 times higher than the GDP growth rate.

The ambitious scheme also sets the target that by 2020, Vietnam will rank 60th on the ITU’s ranking; the IT sector will account for 20-23 percent of GDP; and the annual growth rate of the IT sector will be double that of GDP.

The draft also identifies six major missions: developing telecom infrastructure, turning telephones, visual and audio equipment and computers into popular tools in households, developing IT applications in government agencies and serving daily life, developing the IT industry and IT human resources, and building big IT groups.

To attain the above goals, the scheme sets four solutions: attracting capital from various sources to develop IT, investing in key areas, perfecting policies and mechanisms for IT, developing preferential and break-through policies for the IT sector.

The MoIC will collect comments from all citizens from September 4-30, 2009.

 4/9/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training is planning to launch an education e-library for teachers and students next year in an effort to improve the quality of education in the country.

 
The e-library will help teachers and students approach new educational material and update examinations and policies stipulated by the ministry.
 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan said in an online meeting on Monday via the Government’s www.chinhphu.vn that the ministry was building an e-library to provide a learning data bank for teachers and students.

According to Nhan, Vietnam introduced new secondary textbooks in 2002 which aim to suit reality and stimulate new teaching and learning methods. However, many teachers are suffering under poor work conditions and also lack motivation to develop new teaching methods.

The e-library will help teachers and students approach new educational material and update examinations and policies stipulated by the ministry. The ministry will organize training courses for teachers to renovate teaching and research methods.

To enhance education, Nhan said the ministry was mapping out detailed standards to measure education quality and to improve Government management of education.

According to Nhan, the management of education quality requires specific education indexes and agencies to monitor these indexes. However, the Ministry of Education and Training has no such agency and the management of education is scattered among many agencies. “We need to unify the management of education quality,” he said.

The Ministry of Education and Training this year will require schools to be accountable for their education quality and publicize their financial status to help students and parents choose a good school.

 13/09/2009

CMC Telecom signs contract to provide services to Bao Viet

CMC Telecom has signed a co-operative agreement with the Bao Viet Group to provide professional administration services to the group.

Under the agreement, the CMC will provide transmission, supervision and administration services for Bao Viet right inthis month.

The CMC will install a megawan connection line, leased line, internet leased line and broadband internet services.

Vinaphone signs deal with Ericsson to provide 3G services

Following a signing with Motorola Inc last month to provide 3G services in the northern provinces, mobile phone operator Vinaphone signed another contract last week with Ericsson to provide 3G technology and equipment.

The contract includes installation and commissioning of the operator’s 3G network in the south of Viet Nam.

The network, based on the WCDMA/HSPA 2100 MHz standard, will enable Vinaphone to deliver 3G services, such as Mobile Broadband, to customers at speeds of up to 14.4 MBPS.

Vinaphone says it is committed to launching 3G services in the Viet Nam market this year.

The contracts with Ericsson and Motorola are part of Vinaphone’s US$1 billion plan to provide services throughout the country.

IBM introduces effective IT investment model

Vietnamese enterprises can improve their service, reduce their costs when using IT system through System x servers using the new Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series and BladeCentre of IBM.

IBM System x and Windows Server 2008 R2 software of Microsoft were introduced as a solution packages for small and medium enterprises by IBM Viet Nam, Intel and Microsoft on Tuesday in Ha Noi.

e-Commerce conference to address troubles in the sector

HCM City-based BOM Informatics Corp held a conference recently in a move to help domestic companies take part in or expand their business on the internet.

The conference, with the slogan "Help customers find you", featured various topics, including information sources about potential customers in America, Japan, Europe and the Middle East; general information about search engine marketing; virtual and affiliate marketing; and methods to analyse the effects internet marketing strategies.

A recent Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre report reveals that there are 25.1 million internet users in the country, leading BOM to believe that the internet is one of the most useful tools for businesses not only to promote their business to potential customers, but also to understand customer needs.

 14/09/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – Before December 31, 2009, all mobile subscribers, especially those who use over three mobile numbers at one network, will have to provide their personal information or their service will be blocked.

SIM card sellers violate rules

This regulation has been introduced by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) to curb the number of inactive mobile subscribers.

Under the new rule, each person is allowed to use up to three mobile numbers at each mobile network and they have to register these numbers using ID cards or passports. Registrants must provide their information before December 31, 2009.

A previous circular of the MoIC set the deadline for registration for August 10, 2009, but mobile operators asked the ministry to postpone the date to December 31.

MoIC’s inspectors still worry that SIM card sellers will use their personal information or the information of others to register for and sell pre-paid SIM cards. Inspectors have discovered a huge number of activated SIM cards and have asked mobile operators to check their agents to prevent this phenomenon.

At least 40 million SIM card-holders will have to register because the cards were not registered by the users.