The Association of Francophone Universities (AUF) on September 27 opened two employment support centers, called Pôle Emploi in French, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

The two centers are aimed at matching students with employers, increasing their integration into the labor market, and encouraging their start-up spirit.

The first one, named the Centre d'employabilité francophone (CEF) in French, is based in Hanoi University, while the second is located in the southern branch of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences in HCMC.

Projects relating to consultation, job-seeking support, soft-skills training, occupational certification, and start-ups will be deployed in the two centers.

Model of the CEF at the Hanoi University. Photo: Minh Duy

Jean-Marc Lavest, Director of AUF Asia and Pacific, said the employment support scheme was based on a global poll launched in May 2020 by the AUF. Feedback was contributed by more than 15,000 state agencies, university managers, lecturers, and students, from over 75 countries.

The feedback helped the AUF and its partners to develop training roadmaps for the francophone university, allowing them to address real-world issues, Jean-Marc Lavest noted, adding that it showed student integration into the labor market which was one of the top concerns in Asian countries.

Vice-principal of the Hanoi University Nguyen Thi Cuc Phuong said that the CEF in Hanoi aimed to help secondary school students to select suitable courses to attend in their university career.

Moreover, the center is expected to equip university students with the necessary skills to integrate into the labor market confidently and more easily, Phuong added.

She expressed her hope that Vietnamese students could access more job opportunities in both Vietnam and francophone countries.

There are eight CEFs in the Asia- Pacific region, including the two newly-opened centers in Vietnam; Cambodia, China, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand and Vanuatu each has one.

Currently, there are 69 CEFs across the world, which are connected with each other through an integrated platform that provides distance learning programs and shares events and best practices in the field of employment support for students.

These CEFs also share educational resources and create conditions to connect schools and businesses. The centers support enterprises in hiring and job-seekers to find posts or to create their own company.