Article 1.- To approve the planning on development of the network of vocational training colleges, inermediate vocational schools and vocational training centers up to 2010 and orientations to 2020 with the following principal contents:

1. The planning's viewpoints

- The planning on development of the network of vocational training colleges, intermediate vocational schools and vocational training centers (collectively referred to as vocational training institutions) up to 2010 and orientations to 2020 must be compatible and synchronous with socio-economic development strategies, plannings and plans of the whole country and of each branch, region and locality, and must bring into play the effectiveness of existing vocational training institutions.

- To develop a national network of vocational training institutions, diversify forms of vocational training, and create conditions for laborers, young people, peasants and ethnic minority people to learn jobs and make a good living. To build a number of high-quality vocational training institutions, vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools up to the advanced regional and world levels.

- To expand the scope and, at the same time, improve the quality of vocational training; to adjust the structure of vocational and training levels to meet the labor market demand and keep up with technical and technological advances.

- To step up the socialization of vocational training; to encourage all organizations and individuals to invest in vocational training and develop private and foreign-invested vocational training institutions; to expand international cooperation on vocational training.

2. The planning's objectives

2.1. Overall objectives

To develop the network of vocational training institutions in order to train technical human resources for production and service activities to meet the labor market demand in terms of quantity, quality and regional, vocational and training-degree structures.

2.2. Specific objectives

- The percentage of trained laborers will reach 26% by 2010, and at least 40% by 2020.

- The shares of the three levels of collegiate vocational training, intermediate vocational training and basic vocational training in the total vocational training enrollment will be as follows:

- The enrollment will reach 7.5 million in the 2006-2010 period, and 21 million in the 2011-2020 period. Specifically, the enrollment in the 2006-2010 will be as follows:

3. Development orientations

3.1. Distribution of vocational training institutions

- To step by step upgrade and develop vocational training institutions in the direction of standardization and modernization in order to improve their training capacity, quality and efficiency; to concentrate investment in high-quality vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools in key economic regions and industrial parks to serve a number of key economic sectors.

- By 2010, there will be 90 vocational training colleges, 270 intermediate vocational schools (including 40 high-quality schools and 3 schools up to the advanced level in the region and the world) and 750 vocational training centers. Every province (or city) will have at least one intermediate vocational school or vocational training college; every urban/rural district or town will have at least one vocational training center or every district cluster - an intermediate vocational school, which will create favorable conditions for laborers, especially those in deep-lying, remote, island, ethnic minority and rural areas, to learn jobs.

- By 2020, there will be 250 vocational training colleges, 400 intermediate vocational schools and 900 vocational training centers (including 80 high-quality schools and 10 schools up to the advanced regional and world levels).

- By 2010, vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools will be distributed throughout 8 economic regions as follows:

+ Northeastern region: 15 vocational training colleges and 24 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Northwestern region: 3 vocational training colleges and 6 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Red River delta: 23 vocational training colleges and 97 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Northern Central Vietnam: 8 vocational training colleges and 31 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Coastal southern Central Vietnam: 9 vocational training colleges and 30 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Central Highlands: 3 vocational training colleges and 7 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Southeastern Vietnam: 18 vocational training colleges and 55 intermediate vocational schools;

+ Mekong River delta: 11 vocational training colleges and 20 intermediate vocational schools.

3.2. Vocational training programs and curricula

- To compile and renew vocational training contents, programs and curricula based on vocational skill standards to keep abreast with technical and technological advances in production, and reach the advanced regional and world levels, ensuring transferability in training.

- To develop vocational training programs based on vocational analysis and step by step shift to module-based vocational training programs.

- By 2010, vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools will have vocational training programs and textbooks suitable to the framework program. By 2020, these vocational training programs and textbooks will be developed with advanced methods.

3.3. Contingent of trainers

- To develop a sufficient contingent of trainers who have ethical qualities and professional conscience, vocational-training theoretical, practical and pedagogical standards, and computer and foreign language skills necessary for teaching and scientific research.

- To periodically retrain vocational trainers and administrators to raise their professional qualifications and pedagogical skills.

- By 2010, the ratio of trainers/trainees will be around 1/20; 100% of trainers will reach training standards; 10% of trainers in vocational secondary schools and vocational training colleges will have a postgraduate degree.

- By 2020, 30% of trainers in vocational secondary schools and vocational training colleges will have a postgraduate degree.

3.4. Material foundations and equipment

- To invest in material and technical foundations and equipment of vocational training institutions in the direction of standardization and modernization; to ensure functional areas with adequate facilities in service of teaching, learning and comprehensive education activities.

- By 2010, 60% of vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools will meet standards on land, equipment, workshop, classroom, dormitory and physical training area.

- By 2020, 100% of vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools will meet standards on land, equipment, workshop, classroom, dormitory and physical training area.

4. Major solutions

4.1. Solutions on mechanisms and policies

- To build a consistent legal system for vocational training development as a driving force for vocational training institutions, trainers and trainees.

- To renew mechanisms and policies on vocational training planning and finance; step by step implement a mechanism on bidding and ordering of vocational training with state budget funds.

- To thoroughly and rationally effect decentralization in order to bring into play autonomy and accountability of various levels and vocational training institutions; to reform procedures and processes for the establishment and operation of vocational training institutions towards simplicity and rationality.

- To assess the quality of vocational training: By 2010, 50% of vocational training colleges and intermediate vocational schools will have their quality assessed and accredited, which will reach 100% by 2020.

- To assess and grant national vocational-skill certificates to at least 20 occupations by 2010 and 150 occupations by 2020.

4.2. Financial solutions

- To implement a scheme on socialization of vocational training by 2010 under Decision No. 1000/2005/QD-BLDTBXH of June 7, 2005, of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. To encourage and create favorable conditions for domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to invest in the establishment of private and foreign-invested vocational training institutions; to expand contract-based cooperation in training, scientific research and technology transfer between Vietnamese and foreign vocational training institutions.

- By 2010, to increase the proportion of state budget investment in vocational training to 11% of the total state budget expenditure for education, training and vocational training; to efficiently carry out the project on enhancing vocational training capacity under the 2006-2010 national target program on education and training with around VND 6,000 billion from the central budget in support of investment in improving material foundations for vocational training institutions, concentrating on forming 40 high-quality schools, supporting investment in material foundations and equipment of district-level vocational training centers; training and retraining to raise the quality of vocational trainers and administrators; formulating vocational skill standards and vocational training programs; and providing vocational training for peasants, people with disabilities and ethnic minority people.

- To apply the mechanism of autonomy and accountability in the performance of tasks, organization, payroll and finance to public non-business units under the Government's Decree No. 43/2006/ND-CP of April 25, 2006. To expand the combination between production and trainees' practice in vocational training institutions so as to develop trainees' practical skills and create additional funds for training. By 2020, revenues from production, service provision and research and application of new techniques and technologies will reach around 25% of the total revenue of vocational training institutions; 100% of intermediate vocational schools and vocational training colleges will conduct scientific and technological research and apply its results to vocational training and social service activities.

- To experiment and step by step expand a training model based on the mechanism of sharing training funds between the State and enterprises (double training model).

- To attract non-refundable aid from foreign countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations as well as concessional loans from other countries and international banks for investment in vocational training.

4.3. Solutions to building a contingent of vocational trainers and administrators

- To implement the Party Secretariat's Directive No. 40-CT/TW of June 15, 2004, and the Prime Minister's Decision No. 09/2005/QD-TTg of January 11, 2005, on building, and raising the quality of, a contingent of teachers and educational administrators in the 2005-2010 period. To concentrate investment in existing technical teachers' universities; to upgrade Vinh Long Technical Teachers' College into Vinh Long Technical Teachers' University; to establish one or two more technical teachers' colleges in the coastal and southern Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands; to develop teachers' faculties in a number of colleges and universities.

- To draw up and implement a plan on training and retraining of vocational trainers in line with the planning on quantity, training degrees and discipline structures.

- To expand contract-based cooperation with experts, technicians and skilled workers of enterprises and research institutes to act as guest lecturers of vocational training institutions.

- To prioritize the training of vocational trainers for provinces in northern mountainous areas, the Central Highlands, the Mekong River delta and coastal southern Central Vietnam.

- To build centers for training and retraining vocational administrators; 50% of vocational administrators will reach vocational standards by 2010, and 100% by 2020.

4.4. Scientific and technological solutions

- To apply information technology to vocational training and vocational-training management activities: to design software for teaching, learning and vocational training management; to compile e-teaching materials; to establish vocational training information networks.

- To encourage vocational training institutions to research into and produce vocational training equipment, facilities and instruments.

- To develop scientific research, technology transfer and production activities in vocational training institutions in order to combine learning with practice.

4.5. Implementation solutions

a/ Provincial/municipal People's Committees and ministries and branches having vocational training institutions shall perform the following tasks:

- To review and reorganize existing vocational training institutions under their management and responsibility in order to elaborate, and organize the implementation of, the planning on the network of vocational training institutions up to 2010 and orientations to 2020. To complete the transformation of existing vocational training schools (which fully meet the set conditions) into intermediate vocational schools before December 31, 2006.

- Annually, to mobilize resources and prioritize funds for the implementation of the planning.

- To urge and inspect the implementation of the planning; to make reports according to regulations.

b/ To assign the General Department of Vocational Training:

- To coordinate with the Ministry's functional agencies in guiding ministries, branches and localities to elaborate plannings and plans on the development of networks of vocational training institutions and include them in branch or local socio-economic development plans;

- To coordinate with the Ministry's functional agencies in making annual budget expenditure estimates for vocational training; devise specific plans for mobilizing and efficiently using financial sources for the implementation of the planning;

- To urge, inspect, synthesize and report on the realization of the contents approved in this Decision to the Ministry according to regulations.

- To evaluate schemes on the establishment of vocational training colleges (public and non-public) and submit them to the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs for decision.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 3.- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal People's Committees, the director of the Ministry's Office, the General Director of Vocational Training, the director of the Finance-Planning Department, directors of provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and concerned agencies and units shall implement this Decision.