WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING CURRICULUM: AN EFFECTIVE DESIGN TO ENHANCE GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT RATE IN VIETNAM

Tóm tắt

Universities are improving quality of education to attract more students. Students will choose to study at a university that not only equips them with good knowledge of disciplines but also with skills to work in the workplace. Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam requires universities to conduct a survey about employment rate of graduates within 12 months of graduation. The graduate employment rate of a university cognitively reflects the teaching quality of the institution as well as its reputation. This puts pressures on Vietnamese universities to apply strategies to improve student learning outcomes and prepare them to become work-ready employees. However, there are gaps between what students learn at universities and what they are expected to perform at work. Currently, many graduates do not meet the demands of enterprises and become unemployed after graduation.
Therefore, a university-enterprise partnership in the implementation of work-integrated learning (WIL) curriculum is necessary. WIL is a course focusing on the integration of disciplinary knowledge and workplace practice. The paper suggests the need to design WIL into university curriculum in Vietnam although it has some challenges. The paper also informs university leaders, policy makers, and employers in Vietnam about the importance of WIL.