High-quality STEM human resources
If the problem for each student is "choose what major?", and for each school is "how to teach practically?", then at the macro management level, the big strategic question is: how can education, businesses, the scientific community and the labor market coordinate to create high-quality STEM human resources?
In a global economy strongly impacted by artificial intelligence, digital transformation, green economy and supply chain restructuring, STEM capacity has become a core component of national strength. WEF forecasts that tens of millions of jobs will be replaced and about 40% of workers' skills will change in the next few years. This reality affirms that a country cannot just stop at the goal of chasing the number of STEM graduates every year. The number of degrees is just an input indicator; it is the quality of capacity, in-depth research capacity, innovation spirit and the ability to transform knowledge into commercially valuable products that are the decisive factors in the added value of the economy.
The World Bank (World Bank) warns that to realize the ambition to develop high technology and achieve the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045, Vietnam not only needs to expand the supply of STEM students but also especially needs a team of excellent experts capable of leading research, operating international standard laboratories and bringing technology to the market.
At this time, building a "STEM ecosystem" becomes extremely urgent.
Need to build a STEM ecosystem
An effective STEM ecosystem must create a continuous flow of knowledge and human resources between links: General education - University/Vocational training - Research institutions - Enterprises - Labor market. There, students discover their abilities and career orientation early; students learn through solving practical problems; universities cooperate closely with businesses in research; and state policies facilitate the movement of human resources between the academic and production sectors. If any link is broken, the efficiency of the entire system will seriously decline.
Policy suggestions from the OECD's "skills-first" approach bring an important lesson for Vietnam: instead of just focusing on raw degree quantity indicators, human resource development policies need to be based on updated labor market forecast data. This data must become a basis for managers to see the missing competency groups, helping schools adjust training programs and students have reliable information to orient their future.
In addition, a civilized STEM ecosystem must ensure inclusion and equality, expand access opportunities for women and vulnerable groups, in order to eliminate gender barriers in the technical field (where women currently account for only about 35% of global STEM graduates according to UNESCO statistics).
Vietnam needs to resolutely avoid turning STEM education into a superficial achievement race in terms of the number of clubs or movement-based competitions. It is necessary to build a synchronous institution where education policies are linked to economic vision, businesses actively invest in training, and learners are equipped with lifelong learning thinking. The ultimate goal of STEM is not to turn everyone into scientists, but to build a generation of citizens who proactively adapt, be creative and master technology - a solid foundation for national competitiveness.
