Ministry of Planning and Investment Portal

MPI deputy minister Tran Quoc Phuong. Photo: MPI

Promoting the development of innovation ecosystem

Deputy Minister Phuong said that Vietnam’s innovative ecosystem is now entering the critical development phase that needs a lot of investment and in-depth support to develop innovative start-ups and form a high-quality and internationally recognised talent pool.

In that context, the collaboration between NIC and Google to launch Google Career Certificates and Google for Startups: Startup Academy Vietnam will help to close the skills gap by providing more learning and growth opportunities for local talents and start-ups in Vietnam.

This is utterly and timely necessary to enhance the quality of human resources preparing for the 4th Industrial Revolution and aiming for the digital economy in Vietnam.

This is also one of coordinating activities between the Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment with big corporations to collaborate, maximize resources and international support to develop innovative ecosystems and startups for Vietnam, according to the deputy minister.

The deputy minister believed that the program will achieve its objectives, contribute to improving the quality of human resources, support start-ups, develop technology solutions to create positive change, and spread the spirit of innovation for Vietnam.

Launching Google Career Certificates and Google for Startups. Photo: MPI

Developing the local tech ecosystem and training workers/students with digital skills

According to AlphaBeta’s latest report on “Unlocking the Vietnam Digital Potential”, if leveraged fully, digital transformation in Vietnam could create 74 billion USD in annual economic value by 2030. Two of the key pillars of action the report identifies to fully capture the growth potential are the development of the local tech ecosystem, and need to train workers and students with digital skills.

Google Career Certificates are flexible digital training programs, available online on the Coursera platform that enable learners with no prior experience or a degree to become job-ready through five tracks: IT Support, Project Management, Data Analytics, UX Design, and Digital Marketing and Ecommerce.

Additionally, Google will coordinate with NIC to provide 20,000 certificate to student learners and mid-career professionals scholarships of over 40 local universities and vocational institutions to distribute the scholarships. The program will also allocate about 3,000 scholarships to businesses, organizations and individuals in-need by registering online at nhataiso.nic.gov.vn.

Google for Startups: Startup Academy Vietnam will provide intensive training and an extensive mentoring network for 50 startups, led by experts from Google, leading regional and local ecosystem leaders. The program is tailored to focus on the following key pillars such as people, business, product management, technology and marketing.

Google’s Vice President for Southeast Asia & South Asia Frontier Stephanie Davis. Photo: MPI

Google’s Vice President for Southeast Asia & South Asia Frontier Stephanie Davis shared Google’s mission in Vietnam is to provide equal digital opportunities for every Vietnamese. Google is committed to accelerating the nation’s digital transformation and supporting the government's efforts to build a strong digital talent pool and helping local start-ups thrive.

Google Career Certificates and Google for Startups, Startup Academy Vietnam aim to unlock opportunities for more people by creating pathways to digital jobs and supporting Vietnamese entrepreneurs on their journeys.

Stephanie thanked the MPI, NIC and university partners for its cooperation and support to implement these two programs. The initiatives will support Vietnam’s digital transformation by providing digital skills training that can lead to careers in tech and help Vietnamese start-ups grow./.