By: Suhaib Shams
Estimates indicate that Vietnam will need tens of thousands of skilled workers by 2030 to keep pace with the rapid expansion of the renewable energy and semiconductor industries. Universities and educational institutions are facing significant challenges in meeting this growing demand, especially in light of the shortage of laboratory equipment and the weak link between academic programs and actual market needs.
Human resource requirements in renewable energy
Recent studies expect that the onshore and offshore wind energy sector in Vietnam will need between 60,000 and 80,000 specialized workers by 2030, while the solar energy sector will need about 40,000 to 50,000 specialists, in addition to the needs of the green hydrogen and ammonia sector, which reach 15,000. Required skills vary between ship engineers, control system operators, chemical safety experts, and specialists in smart grid management and energy storage.
Technical education and training challenges
The educational system faces difficulties related to the slow modernization of curricula and the absence of simulation laboratories and specialized software that meet global industrial standards. Experts point out that faculty members have limited opportunities to participate in major practical projects, and students suffer from a lack of language skills and international accredited certifications required by the global labor market in these sectors.
Proposals to bridge the professional gap
To overcome this gap, specialists suggested focusing on investing in a number of leading technical universities to develop specialized programs in offshore wind and green hydrogen. The idea of retraining engineers and technicians from the current oil and gas sector was also proposed, to take advantage of their previous experience in offshore operations and employ them in building wind turbine foundations and offshore platforms. In the semiconductor field, there is a focus on chip design, packaging processes, and advanced testing, with the importance of launching short-term training courses for working professionals to enable them to acquire additional qualifications through internal training programs in companies.
Cooperation between universities and companies
Education officials in Vietnam emphasize the need to involve companies in the educational process through industrial advisory boards, to ensure that academic outputs are aligned with production requirements. Institutions are currently working to strengthen cooperation with foreign partners to attract technical investments and facilitate knowledge exchange, with a recommendation to organize continuous field training for students to ensure their readiness to work in modern production environments immediately upon graduation.
