HollandDoor recently conducted a scoping mission to Vietnam on technical and vocational education (TVET) for aquaculture, where it explored educational cooperation opportunities for Dutch green knowledge institutions. This mission, funded by Groenpact, focused on higher education, as well as pangasius and shrimp farming, and took place in the Mekong Delta. It was a collaborative effort by Zone.college, Scalda, and HollandDoor.
The mission team included representatives from Zone.college, Scalda, along with HollandDoor partner Cedric van Oene. HollandDoor brought in expertise on market and food systems, helping to understand how these components interact and influence the aquaculture sector's development and training needs.
During the week, the mission team held stakeholder meetings with representatives from higher education, the private sector, the public sector, and NGOs. Educational visits were made to Nông Lâm University, Can Tho University, Dong Thap Community College, Tien Giang University, and Can Tho College to discuss alignment and collaboration between higher education and the private sector.
Private sector visits were held with ShrimpVet, De Heus Vietnam, GoodTom, Skretting Vietnam, KimDelta, and FreshStudio to discuss the labor market and skills development in the sector.
The team also visited government entities such as the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and local NGO ICAFIS to understand the role of policy and other training stakeholders in the sector.
Key findings of the mission team:
- Significant challenges in water quality, disease management, and antibiotic use at SME farms
- High mortality rates and low feed conversion ratios at SME farms
- A trend towards consolidation into larger businesses, with concerns about monopolization
- Negative perceptions of jobs in the sector among the youth and their parents
- A general consensus that university education should be more practical
- Universities, facing limited funding, are expanding their offerings to include private sector training
- Interest in aquaculture education at vocational colleges is declining and at risk of disappearing
- Vocational colleges provide more practical training and have solid industry linkages, especially with processing companies
- High demand for better technical and soft skills among university graduates, as expressed by the private sector
- Dutch companies emphasize internal skills development
- Farmer training and support by the private sector are seen as crucial for sector development
For more information please contact Cedric van Oene
