| Abstract |
Vietnam became a lower middle income country by the end of 2010, following the rapid economic growth since the early 1990s, but there is no guarantee that industrial development in Vietnam will continue, as some scholars have warned that Vietnam risks falling into the 'Middle Income Trap'. Preceding research often claimed skills mismatch as one of the factors which may hinder Vietnam's economic growth and industrialisation, attributed it to the poor quality of education and training programs, and suggested the demand-driven training as a key solution to reduce skills mismatch. However, this argument is heavily influenced by the neoclassical economic theories which assume that firms are forward-looking enough to absorb skilled labours, without sufficiently analysing the nature and constraints of skills demands. This research aims to provide more comprehensive view of skills demands and mismatch, and explore factors which enable Vietnam to become a high skill economy, analysing qualitative data obtained through interview with foreign-invested and Vietnamese manufacturing firms. |