HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Studentsshould consider many factors such as their weaknesses and strengths, as well asinterests, before deciding on a particular training path, experts have said. 

University entrance exam scores for some faculties have risen for theacademic year 2020 - 2021, putting 12th graders under stress. 

Some popular university faculties are “frozen” due to the COVID-19pandemic, so it is important for authorities and parents to help studentsset a realistic goal and appropriate learning path.

At a recent career counseling workshop held by the HCM City Department ofEducation and Training, National University of HCM City and the Education andTraining Developing Centre in the South in mid-October, Mai Nguyen Hong Hanh, astudent in the 12A1 class in Tran Van Giau High School, said shewas concerned about the increasing number of new graduates thatwere not able to get a job.

She is now even more worried because the pandemic has left manypeople jobless. 

Pham Doan Nguyen, deputy director of Admissions and Communication Centre, underthe HCM City University of Economics and Finance, said that “hotfaculties” are not actually determined by the labour market. Instead, theconcept of “hot labourers” in each field is what is considered.

Regardless of the negative effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, it isan individual's effort that determines whether they can stay in anorganisation, he said.

Meanwhile, the deputy director of the HCM City’s University of Technology’sAdmission and Communication Consulting Department, Nguyen Tran Ngoc Phuong,said that in the context of global integration, students today should nottotally buy the idea what they learn in school is going to be whatthey will be working on later.

Instead, it is necessary to understand that a specific major can providestudents with different career paths and opportunities in the future.

For example, a student who graduates in English Language Arts can work asa foreign language teacher, book translator, or international relations staff,among other professions.

With that, after selecting their major, students need to learn necessary skillsrelated to their dream jobs and their own abilities and interests in orderto secure a job after graduation.

Vice president of the HCM City Vocational Education Association Tran Anh Tuan,said that between 2020 and 2030, some majors with increasing labour recruitmentneeds will be network security, information security, mobile applicationprogramming, artificial intelligence, logistics, e-commerce, international law,and credit-insurance, among others.

According to deputy director of HCM City Department of Education and TrainingNguyen Van Hieu, career counseling for 12th graders is an annual activityorganised at the beginning of the school year to give them an overview ofthe market and training programmes, and to help them determine a career goalrelevant to their ability, interest and family conditions.

Psychologist To Nhi A stressed the importance of students acknowledging theirstrengths and weaknesses, no matter what kind of training they chooseto pursue in the future.

The former deputy director of the HCM City National University, Nguyen Duc Nghia,added that the Ministry of Education and Training has kept a tradition of usingthe high school graduation exam results for university and collegeadmission. But there are other admission options such as directadmission or competency tests that students need to be informed of to make awise decision for their training path./.