Removing the knot for 1.6 million "3-no" young people

Labor and training markets are still "mismatched

At the Youth Dialogue Program on October 15, Mr. Nguyen Tien Hai - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Home Affairs, Chairman of the National Committee for Vietnamese Youth - said that according to the Q3/2026 statistical report, the unemployment rate of Vietnamese youth aged 15 to 24 is 9.07%, about 4 times higher than the general unemployment rate of the whole country of 2.22%. In addition, there are about 1.6 million unemployed youth, who do not participate in studying and do not participate in training, accounting for 11.2% of the total number of young people.

According to the minister, the high rate of youth "3 no's" increases the risk of wasting young human resources, creating pressure on the social security system in the long term. However, in all economies, there is always a certain rate, associated with the transition from studying to working or temporarily not participating in the labor market.

Talking to Lao Dong, Dr. Pham Ngoc Toan - Director of the Center for Information, Analysis, Strategic Forecast and Public Services under the Institute of State Organization and Labor Science (Ministry of Home Affairs), said that youth in the transition period from school to the labor market is a common phenomenon. However, in Vietnam, the scale of the "3 no" group is relatively large, tending to increase and concentrated mainly in rural areas and women.

According to Mr. Toan, the current paradox is that businesses still reflect a labor shortage, while many young people do not participate or cannot find suitable jobs. He analyzed: "The core reason is not the lack of jobs, but the incompatibility between labor supply and demand in the market.

Dr. Pham Ngoc Toan assessed that the problem stems from both the training system and the rapid changes in the labor market. A part of untrained workers face difficulties in finding jobs; meanwhile, some highly qualified people still find it difficult to meet the actual requirements of businesses. Mr. Toan emphasized: "Workers not only need professional knowledge, but also digital skills, adaptability and continuous learning.

The change of the economy towards modernization, automation and digital transformation has changed recruitment requirements, creating a gap between the skills of job seekers and the position the business needs to recruit.

Innovation in career orientation, linking training with recruitment

Dr. Nguyen Thuy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Training and Advanced Study - said that career guidance from secondary school to high school needs to be strongly innovated in a scientific direction, associated with practice. Educational institutions can apply vocational competency assessment tools such as the Holland model (RIASEC), and at the same time develop career guidance programs suitable to domestic and global human resource trends.

She emphasized: "Another important thing is to improve the quality of employment for young people by improving salaries, benefits and the working environment." Along with that, there needs to be financial support policies for young people who want to re-study or switch to vocational training.

According to experts, state management agencies need to build a database of Vietnamese youth to monitor the situation of not studying and not working in each locality. Through this, functional agencies can identify the needs and skills of young people, detect early groups at risk of falling into the "3 no's" situation and connect them promptly with vocational training and employment programs.

Departments and sectors also need to coordinate with social protection organizations, non-governmental organizations, economic groups and businesses to implement vocational skills training models associated with actual recruitment. This solution helps young people access suitable jobs, improve adaptability and build a stable and long-term career path.

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