Encourage learning so that each worker has the opportunity to study for life

On March 2, 2025, General Secretary To Lam (now General Secretary, President) had an important article titled "Lifelong Learning". In the article, the General Secretary commented: "Lifelong learning becomes a rule of life; not only helps each individual recognize, adapt, not lag behind in the daily changes of the present world, enrich their intellect, perfect their personality, overcome difficulties and challenges to become more and more progressive and position themselves in modern society; moreover, this is an important key to improving people's knowledge and training human resources, promoting socio-economic development, which is the only and inevitable path for every nation to ensure prosperous and sustainable development. Lifelong learning helps each member of society have enough conditions and opportunities to improve themselves, improve the quality of life of themselves, their families, clans, villages, hamlets, wards, communes and the whole country under the leadership of the Party on the path to becoming a rich, strong, democratic, fair, civilized and socialist country”.

When talking to workers and laborers in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27, 2026, to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2026) and International Labor Day May 1, General Secretary and President To Lam reiterated the requirement for the process of enhancing the self-worth of workers: "Each worker should try to learn a new skill, do better in their work every day, boldly propose initiatives, technical improvements, save materials, ensure safety, and improve product quality.

Innovation is not something far-fetched. Innovation can start from a more reasonable operation, a more scientific chain arrangement, an idea that helps save time, reduce accidents, reduce hardship, and increase productivity. These simple initiatives, if respected and replicated, will create great strength for businesses, for the economy and for the country”.

Besides the self-study of each worker and employee, the role of the Trade Union organization, the Association for Promoting Education and businesses is very important. Workers need time to study, places to study, suitable study programs and specific incentive mechanisms.

In the coming time, the Trade Union organization needs to consider promoting education and talent among workers as an important content of care work. Each grassroots trade union needs to grasp the learning needs of union members and workers: who needs to learn a new profession, who needs to improve their skills, who needs to learn digital skills, who needs to learn basic foreign languages, who needs to supplement knowledge of labor law, occupational safety and health, and teamwork skills.

From that need, trade unions can coordinate with businesses, vocational schools, continuing education centers, online learning platforms to open flexible classes right in industrial parks, factories or outside of working hours. These classes do not necessarily have to start with grand programs, but can be from contents very close to workers: using new machinery, reading and understanding technical instructions, safe operations, basic digital skills, using online public services, personal financial management, communication in the working environment, foreign languages serving production.

On October 19, 2022, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1268/QD-TTg approving the Program "Promoting lifelong learning activities among workers at enterprises to 2030".

Immediately after that, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor issued a plan to implement this program with the goal: striving to achieve by 2030 90% of workers at enterprises being propagated, disseminated, studied, and thoroughly grasped the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws related to workers, associated with theoretical contents on the functions and tasks of the working class and the Vietnam Trade Union organization.

By 2030, 75% of workers at enterprises participate in learning to improve their skills and professional qualifications; 75% of workers at enterprises participate in learning life skills education content; 65% of workers at enterprises are familiarized with information technology and digital technology.

In September 2024, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education organized the signing of a cooperation program. One of the cooperation contents is to encourage the organization of lifelong learning activities. The cooperation program on promoting lifelong learning activities, encouraging learning, encouraging talents, building a learning society among workers in the period 2024 - 2030 between the two agencies clearly states 5 contents, including: strengthening information and propaganda on the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws on encouraging learning, encouraging talents, building a lifelong learning society to raise awareness and unify actions in trade unions and association associations at all levels, trade union members, officials, and members.

Promote the implementation of learning models in families, clans and communities, especially the models "Learning Citizens", "Learning Units" according to the Prime Minister's Decisions.

Encourage the organization of lifelong learning activities: Direct propaganda on mass media, seminars, forums on promoting lifelong learning, building a learning society; building propaganda materials; integrating the content of promoting lifelong learning, building a learning society into professional fields, patriotic emulation movements launched by the two agencies...

Actively responding to the movement "The whole country emulation to build a learning society, promote lifelong learning in the period 2023 - 2030" according to Decision 1315/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister among workers, civil servants and laborers in enterprises.

Detect, commend, reward and coordinate the awarding of scholarships "Learning never together"; promptly honor typical collectives and individuals in learning, dynamic and creative in performing assigned tasks; select and introduce outstanding individuals and collectives to participate in the "Vietnamese Talents" award.

In the new context, associated with the emulation movement "Good Labor, High Productivity, Good Income" that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has just launched to trade union levels, the role of education promotion among workers and laborers must be raised to a new level.

From good practices at the grassroots level, trade unions at all levels can develop models of "worker learning corner", "worker bookshelf", "post-shift class", "professional skills day", "workers learning digital skills", "each union member a new skill"... These models, if implemented in practice, will contribute to forming a learning culture in the worker team.

In order to arouse and promote the tradition of studiousness, form the habit of self-study and active lifelong learning among workers at enterprises and units, on June 19, the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education and Lao Dong Newspaper organized a signing ceremony for a coordination program on promoting Information - Propaganda in education promotion, talent promotion, and building a learning society in the period 2026 - 2030, which is of great significance, implementing the request of General Secretary and President To Lam at the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress: "Caring for workers is not only supporting in difficult times, but also creating conditions for workers to grow up, progress and have a better future".

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