Taking part in the event were Mr Mika Tirronen, Counsellor for Education and Science of Finland for the Asia region (Embassy of Finland in Singapore); Ms Mạc Lê Thu Hồng, Special Adviser to the Embassy of Finland in Viet Nam on Innovation, Information and Communication Technology, and Education; Ms Lê Vân Anh, Trade Section of the Embassy of Finland, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland; and Mr Phan Sỹ Nghĩa, Standing Vice President and Secretary General of VAVET&SOW, together with the Communications Board.
The two sides held discussions with a view to promoting: training cooperation between Finnish institutions and Vietnamese vocational education institutions; capacity-building training for teachers in many fields, with priority given to new areas such as integrating green elements into vocational training programmes and digital transformation; cooperation on labour migration and the recognition of degrees and certificates for participants in labour migration programmes to Finland; and communication cooperation to introduce Finland's vocational education system and educational streaming to Vietnamese vocational education institutions and young Vietnamese workers.
Mr Mika Tirronen said that VAVET&SOW is an important partner of Finland in Viet Nam. With VAVET&SOW's involvement, he was confident that these areas of cooperation would succeed, with broad and deep participation from Vietnamese vocational education institutions and workers.
In 2023 and 2024, the Finnpartnership programme and VAVET&SOW jointly implemented the project "Viet Nam – Finland Vocational Training Cooperation", with a total of more than 260 participants from nearly 30 Finnish universities and colleges and nearly 50 Vietnamese vocational education institutions. Institutions on both sides are currently in discussions to implement programmes to upgrade teachers' skills and to cooperate on vocational training and labour migration.
In the coming period, VAVET&SOW, the Embassy of Finland, Finnpartnership and Business Finland – the Finnish agency for innovation funding and trade, travel and investment promotion – will carry out many joint activities to promote the development of vocational education in both countries.