DHL study reveals youth in Vietnam are growing anxious about finding employment

• More than 80% of youth surveyed believed
  that they have the requisite skills needed to enter the working world but almost
  90% of them are “anxious” about their ability to secure a job upon completing
  their education
• Similar to their peers in the region, most
  felt that Covid-19 is affecting the job-seeking process but remain optimistic

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media
OutReach – 15 July 2021 – To mark the United Nations’ World Youth Skills Day this year, Deutsche
Post DHL Group (DPDHL Group), the world’s leading logistics provider has published
key findings from an inaugural study on youth employability in Asia. The three-week
online study saw close to 950 responses from young people above 15 years of age
in the region, including nearly 480 from Vietnam. Young people from across six
other countries – Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand
made up the rest of the respondents. This Vietnam study was done as part of DPDHL
Group’s GoTeach program with the support of its partner SOS Children’s
Villages.

 

Christoph Selig, Vice President, sustainability
communications and programs, DPDHL Group said, “Job uncertainties and
insecurities abound as most economies in the region continue to battle
different waves of Covid-19 even as the pandemic starts to recede with the
availability of vaccines. Whilst this inevitably impacts the hiring roadmap for
businesses across multiple industries, it is heartening to see our youth
recognizing the challenges ahead, but yet remain optimistic about their own
aptitude and abilities to secure a job upon completing their education.”

 

The study found that almost 90% of Vietnamese youth
who responded are either “anxious” or “very anxious” about their ability to
find a job, with nearly 98% acknowledging that the Covid-19 pandemic is
affecting the process of job hunting. Despite this, there is a sense of
confidence as well as optimism among these youth in Asia: 88% of them believe they
are ready to enter the job market, with 70% indicating that they expect to land
a job in less than six months upon completing their education.

 

When evaluating an offer, the “opportunity to learn
and be challenged” at a job came up top in factors to consider followed closely
by “job security”, where nearly 20% of respondents in the region indicated
as crucial. In Vietnam, most respondents agree with their counterparts in the
region on wanting to learn and be challenged but they cited “salary” as the
second most-considered factor. Unsurprisingly, circa 38% of the young surveyed (in
Vietnam and across the region) regarded traditional methods such as internships
to be useful in helping them land a job although recommendations from mentors
and teachers are equally considered to be key enablers. Online job portals whilst
prevalent are viewed as the least useful channel simply due to the lack of the
personal connection afforded by working as an intern or a validation by a
contact.

 

Industry
preferences

In Vietnam, over 250 youth felt that working as a
healthcare professional such as a nurse or doctor is the most recession-proof
occupation undoubtedly swayed by the critical roles that these front-liners
have played since the global Covid-19 outbreak, whereas a job in the education
or government sectors are in second and third place respectively. Interestingly,
when asked what their preference as a first job will be, more than 50% of young
people in Vietnam picked entrepreneurship – reflecting the same preferences as
their peers in the region where over 20% of them selected this option. Overall,
jobs related to entrepreneurship, education, and hospitality/ tourism sectors
ranked among the top three preferred by young people in the region.

 

“Young people just entering the workforce have
witnessed an unprecedented crisis that would have influenced their view of the
working world,” commented Susanne Novotny, Corporate Partnership Manager at SOS
Children’s Villages. “It’s therefore not surprising that most felt that the
healthcare industry is somewhat recession-proof but equally, most young people
might have preferred to start their own business to have better control over
their own lives, careers and destiny. All in all, it’s encouraging to see the
enterprising spirit of young people, strongly supported by GoTeach
entrepreneurship training on how to start and run their own business.”

Essential skills
for the working world

Beyond technical and vocational skills, almost 60%
of respondents in Vietnam viewed interpersonal communications skills as key whilst
27% thought language skills to be pertinent in their ability to secure a job.
Their peers in the region also cited these as the most important skills that
will support them in their job-seeking journey.

 

Designated
by the General Assembly in 2014, the World Youth
Skills Day is an opportunity for young people, technical and vocational
education and training (TVET) institutions, and public and private sector
stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of equipping young people
with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. This year’s theme
is “Skills for a resilient youth”.

 

An Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)
initiative dating back to 2009, GoTeach seeks to improve the employability of
young people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds
caused by social unrest, poverty and/or loss of family. In Vietnam, DPDHL Group
recently marked its tenth-year anniversary for GoTeach in the country, and have
pledged to continue partnering with SOS Children’s
Villages, the largest non-governmental organization focused
on supporting children without parental care and families at risk.

 

To date, volunteers from across DPDHL Group in over
60 countries have contributed their time and effort into working with young
people under this program. In Asia Pacific, more than 600 DHL volunteers ran
several initiatives in 2020, including mentoring, job skills training, resume
writing, internships and youth camps, to benefit young people across the
region.

Note to editors:

 

Please refer to the attached infographic for the complete findings of
the study conducted among 950 young people across Asia. For more stories about
DHL’s sustainability approach and programs, including GoTeach, please visit Logistics of Things.