Young workers focus on learning skills, not studying for movement certificates

"Many certificates" are no longer an advantage

Ms. Doan Thu Ha, 30 years old, is currently an administrative - human resource employee of an education corporation in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi). Ms. Ha said that she really regrets that during the 4 years, from the 3rd year of university until 2 years of working, she spent a lot of time and money to "collect" certificates related to foreign languages and office IT. There was even a time when Ms. Ha studied and worked at the same time, spending most of her income conquering milestones in foreign language proficiency.

I could not imagine a day working for a group specializing in education, including the field of backbone which is foreign languages, but the certificates and skills I had focused on pursuing for several years really did not have much meaning for my current job, I could not apply much of what I had learned for work, said Ms. Ha.

Ms. Dinh Thu Hien - Director of Alee Creative Joint Stock Company (Lang Ward, Hanoi) said that for a long time, the popular mentality of young students and workers was that the more certificates the easier it was to find a job. Short-term courses on soft skills, foreign languages, IT, management... are flourishing, attracting a large number of learners. However, recruitment reality shows that the certificate is only valid when it accurately reflects real capacity.

"We have had many candidates have a "collection" of certificates, but we lack candidates who can do the job immediately. Many young workers, after spending tens of millions of VND to study many different courses, still struggle to find a job or are only accepted for positions that are not in accordance with their expertise and have low income, said Ms. Hien.

According to Ms. Hien, the current situation and new demands of the labor market have " awakened" many workers, helping them realize that following the learning movement does not help increase their self-worth, even causing them to lose direction in building core competencies.

Faced with strong screening signals from the labor market, a number of students and young workers have proactively re-sectioned their learning path. Instead of scattered learning, they focus on one or a few specialized skills, associated with a clear career orientation. Instead of spending money on many certificates, learners switch to investing in professional training courses, practice projects or learning directly from the working environment. This method helps them accumulate practical experience, shortening the adaptation time when joining the business" - according to Ms. Hien.

The labor market requires "real capacity"

Mr. Be Ngoc Anh - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Construction & Industry Company Limited (Vinh Tuy Ward, Hanoi) said that most businesses currently prioritize candidates who can work independently, quickly integrate and create value. In particular, in the context of businesses having to streamline the apparatus and optimize costs, they do not have much room to retrain from the beginning. Therefore, workers who want to have an advantage are forced to equip themselves with specialized skills and be ready to meet the requirements of the job.

This also explains why many businesses value the capacity to demonstrate through products, projects, and hands-on experiences more than the number of certificates on the documents. The trend of specialized training brings many positive signals but also requires early and correct career orientation. If choosing the wrong skills or pursuing a market field is no longer in demand, learners still risk wasting time and effort, Mr. Ngoc Anh affirmed.

As a unit connecting labor supply and demand, Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Employment Service Center commented that at present, providing labor market information and forecasting human resource needs is very important because when students and young workers have full access to information, they will have the basis to choose skills to invest in, avoiding emotional learning or short-term trends.

In addition, training institutions also need to improve the quality of the program, reduce the situation of "selling certificates", increase practice time, connect businesses so that learners clearly understand the job requirements right from school.

The fact that young students and workers proactively give up the mentality of chasing movement certificates and focusing on improving their in-depth skills is a positive signal for the labor market. This is not only a change in learning methods, but also a maturity in professional thinking. In the context of a volatile labor market, the value of workers lies in real capacity, not the quantity of certificates. Learning correctly, learning well, and learning deeply will help young workers avoid wasting personal resources, improve competitiveness and be more proactive in their career path, said Mr. Thanh.

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