Diplomas do not guarantee jobs for young workers

Bachelors do all kinds of jobs to make a living

Anh Nguyễn Hữu Thành (quê xã Thọ Xuân, Thanh Hóa) tốt nghiệp Khoa Công nghệ thông tin - Trường Đại học Công nghệ Giao thông vận tải (phường Phương Liệt, Hà Nội) năm 2023. Tháng 8.2023, anh Thành làm nhân viên công nghệ thông tin cho một tờ tạp chí chuyên về giao thông. Công việc của anh là vận hành website của tạp chí, đảm bảo phần mềm nội bộ thông suốt. Sau gần 2 năm gắn bó, anh Thành nghỉ việc vào tháng 6.2025.

Before I quit my job, the total monthly income was about 11 million VND. This income is not too low, but compared to the information technology industry, it is very modest. Not to mention, my salary is often not paid on time, some months it is delayed by dozens of days, which greatly affects my life. I decided to quit my job to find new opportunities," Mr. Thanh recounted.

However, Mr. Thanh's "dream" of finding a job was not easy at all. He asked all sorts of channels, from asking acquaintances and friends to introduce him to registering to find a job at the Hanoi job service center. Some companies called him for interviews but all criticized the experience as "thin" and the skills he accumulated as "not very valuable". Under the pressure of making a living, from October 2025, Mr. Thanh became a maintenance and network operator for a game shop in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi).

Although not satisfied with his current job and not daring to disclose it to his family, Mr. Thanh said that an income of about 15 million VND/month helps him maintain his life. "I am still looking for and waiting for a more suitable job opportunity," Mr. Thanh said.

In big cities, the image of graduates driving technology cars, delivering goods, selling goods online or working part-time is no longer unfamiliar. Many people have studied economics, management, finance, pedagogy, and even engineering, but after graduating, they cannot find jobs suitable for their profession. Many young people share that they apply for jobs for a long time but are constantly rejected due to lack of practical experience or professional skills that do not meet business requirements. While waiting for opportunities, they are forced to do temporary jobs to have income to cover living expenses.

Faced with difficult realities, many young people choose to flexibly manage to survive in the labor market. They learn new skills and shift to areas with higher demand such as digital marketing, information technology, e-commerce, and logistics services.

Many people accept starting over from low positions, low salaries to accumulate experience. Others take advantage of digital platforms to work freelance under projects, opening up new sources of income despite being unstable.

The trend of "re-learning when young" is increasingly popular, as many graduates participate in short-term training courses and vocational certificates to increase competitiveness.

Dismatch between training and market demand

Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Employment Service Center - said that the core cause of the situation of bachelors and workers with degrees having difficulty finding jobs or working in non-specialized fields lies in the mismatch between the training system and the actual needs of the labor market.

“Nhiều trường đại học vẫn nặng về lý thuyết, ít thực hành, khiến sinh viên ra trường thiếu kỹ năng làm việc. Trong khi đó, doanh nghiệp ngày càng yêu cầu lao động phải có kỹ năng chuyên môn vững, khả năng thích nghi nhanh và kinh nghiệm thực tế. Khoảng cách này khiến không ít sinh viên dù có bằng cấp nhưng vẫn không đáp ứng được yêu cầu tuyển dụng. Chưa kể, một số ngành học từng “hot” trong giai đoạn trước nay đã bão hòa, số lượng sinh viên ra trường vượt xa nhu cầu tuyển dụng, dẫn đến cạnh tranh gay gắt và thất nghiệp cao”, ông Thành nhận định.

Mr. Bui Sy Loi - former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs (now the Social Affairs Committee) - assessed that, from a social perspective, the situation of graduates having difficulty finding jobs and working in the wrong field reflects the waste of training resources. "When graduates have to do jobs that do not require high qualifications, professional capacity is not properly exploited, and the overall labor productivity of the economy is affected," Mr. Loi said.

To solve this problem, Mr. Loi believes that it is necessary to strongly innovate the education and training system. The curriculum must be closely linked to practice, increase practice time, and connect businesses right from when students are still in school. Businesses also need to participate more deeply in the training process, from building programs, guiding internships to recruiting after graduation. A training model linked to actual needs will help reduce the gap between labor supply and demand. In addition, early career orientation for high school students is very important, helping young people choose majors that suit their abilities and market needs, avoiding chasing trends.

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