Innovation
UNICEF is working to empower young people in Viet Nam through leveraging technology and championing leadership in innovation.
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- Tiếng Việt
The Challenge
Nearly 43 per cent of Viet Nam’s growing population of 92 million is under the age of 25 and in Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s most populous urban area, this percentage is even higher. While the majority of young people in the country complete mandatory schooling, a significant skills gap has emerged.
“Many Vietnamese still enter the labour market without skills necessary for decent work and to drive Viet Nam forward in a fast-changing global landscape.”
This has left employers and young people themselves reporting a lack job-specific technical as well as soft skills, such as problem solving, team work and communication. Marginalized adolescent girls and boys are particularly vulnerable as they have limited resilience and skills to adapt to an increasingly dynamic employment market and challenges within society.
The Solution
In response, UNICEF is actively working in Ho Chi Minh City – the country’s economic growth engine – to champion innovation and better prepare young people for the challenges of tomorrow.
As part of the city’s innovation plan to 2020, we have partnered the city’s science and technology authorities and its Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) to establish “innovation clubs” across the city. Targeted at primary and secondary school students as well as out-of-school young people, including marginalized adolescents, these clubs take a broad spectrum approach to help them realize their true potential.
“Innovation empowers young people to become social change agents who can influence and lead on solving problems in their communities.”
While development of 21st Century skills delivers a globally recognized mix of core competencies to thrive in the workplace, the clubs also help youth understand their roles in creating positive social impacts and guide them on how to identify social issues and act upon them innovatively.
As part of these efforts, we will engage the city’s leaders together with young people to close critical equity gaps in areas such as education, health, housing, participation and protection.