Labor trends require comprehensive, interdisciplinary knowledge

What are the new points in the 2019 enrollment work of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU) and what opportunities are there for candidates who want to study at the school? That is the main content of VOV2's talk with two guests, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) and Mr. Nguyen Phan Huy Khoi (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bao Ninh Investment Company) - one of the enterprises that have been cooperating in training and recruiting human resources of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, journalist Nguyen Thu Luong and Mr. Nguyen Phan Huy Khoi in the admissions consultation session on April 24, 2019 at VOV 2

Social Sciences and Humanities sector is interested

Journalist Nguyen Thu Luong of VOV2 started the program with the first question for Vice Principal Hoang Anh Tuan: If in previous years, candidates rushed to register for majors in economics and technology and were less interested in majors in social sciences and humanities, then in last year's admission season, the number of applications for majors in social sciences and humanities increased dramatically, so what was the reason?
Sharing his views on this trend, Associate Professor Hoang Anh Tuan informed: in 2018, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU) received nearly 40,000 applications. Part of the reason is the true passion of a number of students for the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities. Fields/subjects such as History, Literature, Philosophy, Language, Culture, International Relations... have a special appeal to many young people. Students soon realize their passion and see their own abilities suitable for pursuing those fields of study.
From another perspective, despite many fluctuations in the labor and career market, in general, the jobs after graduation of students majoring in Social Sciences and Humanities are relatively stable. Students are also becoming more realistic in choosing which major to study so that after graduation it is suitable for the types of jobs available. Survey data from the University shows that students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities after 6-12 months of graduation, the employment rate is 90-93%.
Looking at it from another perspective, candidates, employers and society have realized a trend: in the context of the 4.0 technology revolution or the digital age, the labor force is increasingly required to have comprehensive and interdisciplinary knowledge in many fields. And knowledge of social sciences and humanities plays a very important role in forming our worldview, outlook on life as well as our awareness of ourselves, our work and our lives.

Mr. Nguyen Phan Huy Khoi believes that the above phenomenon is a forecast of changing perspectives on careers as well as human resource needs in the field of social sciences and humanities. From the perspective of enterprises, education and training activities are a decisive factor in the development of the economy. Training institutions - students/learners - employers are inseparable factors.
A while ago, a lot of candidates flocked to the so-called "hot" majors such as economics, science and technology... but now, the supply has exceeded the demand. The production threshold of educational products called "hot" majors has exceeded the needs of businesses and society.
Emphasizing the very important role of the fields of social sciences and humanities in the overall picture of the economy, Mr. Khoi said: Social sciences and humanities are always necessary and indispensable in life, and at this time, the fields of social sciences and humanities are attracting the attention of candidates.
"We can see that in current human resource recruitment, the specific knowledge of each industry is increasingly blurred. Interdisciplinary sciences are always mentioned by everyone because they are in line with trends. Then the development of the internet, of technology 4.0, of the knowledge economy leads to each individual having to equip themselves with a lot of different knowledge and skills. The skills and knowledge of a narrow major cannot meet the development needs. That is why the field of Social Sciences and Humanities - the field of study that provides basic knowledge, interdisciplinary knowledge about people and society - is becoming increasingly important" - Mr. Khoi expressed his opinion.
Businesses need knowledge and skills more than degrees

A listener's question to Vice Principal Hoang Anh Tuan: In 2019, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities recruited students for the first time in Japanese Studies. How is this major recruited and trained? What are the study abroad and job opportunities?
Vice Principal Hoang Anh Tuan said: Japanese Studies is a major that has been taught in the Faculty of Oriental Studies for many years, but from this year, Japanese Studies has officially become an independent major. Japanese Studies major enrolls students in blocks D01, D04, D06, D78, D81, D83. It can be seen that because this is a major closely related to languages ​​and foreign languages, the focus is on enrolling block D.
Regarding internship and employment opportunities for students majoring in Japanese, in recent years, second and third year students who do internships at Japanese companies have received salaries paid by the companies. Many students have jobs even before graduation. The demand for human resources in this industry is increasing with the development of Japanese companies in Vietnam as well as the increasingly open international cooperation relationship. Students majoring in Japanese studies, in addition to learning knowledge about Japan in a regional orientation, also have good proficiency in Japanese and English.
In response to journalist Nguyen Thu Luong’s question about the criteria of businesses when recruiting human resources, Mr. Nguyen Phan Huy Khoi said: Currently, recruiting units are no longer too concerned about which school students graduated from, which major they majored in, and what degrees they have. They are interested in the knowledge base you have after graduation, the skills you can use to work, and your ability to meet the job position.

According to Mr. Khoi, that leads to universities having to change their thinking, training philosophy, training methods and output standards that the school aims for. Each school has its own educational philosophy, but it needs to integrate into the general flow of world trends. And training products must follow the laws of the market economy. Schools that train products that are suitable for educational trends, market needs and demand will have students a place in businesses and many opportunities to contribute to society.

Answering the question of journalist Nguyen Thu Luong about the innovations of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in opening new training majors/programs to meet the needs of society and the labor market, Vice President Hoang Anh Tuan shared: The school is well aware of the new trends and requirements of the human resources market, so in addition to the traditional majors, which are the core of the school, many new training majors have been pioneered in building interdisciplinary and cross-industry directions. In particular, this year, there are 03 new training programs being implemented, associated with the orientation of socialization and high applicability: Journalism, Management Science and Information Management. The school has also been building a number of new majors based on cooperation with member units of VNU, with integrated knowledge between the majors of Social Sciences and Humanities and other majors such as economics, foreign languages, law, technology, etc.
One of the new majors of interest this year is Information Management, which is enrolling students for the first time in 2019. Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan said that this is a very attractive major in the context of strong development of technology and digital information today. Accordingly, the process of producing, distributing and using knowledge and information becomes an important driving force for development. In today's huge information pool, the way we capture, exploit and process information effectively and positively will create success, no matter what field you work in. Information Management provides interdisciplinary knowledge, helping learners have knowledge and skills to organize, distribute and use information. Learners are also provided with knowledge from many other scientific fields such as: business administration, sociology, multimedia communications... to meet the needs of data processing in the new era.