If Vietnam wants to master modern railway technologies, human resource preparation must begin today. Modern railways are no longer simply trains running on railways but a complex technology system, integrating many fields such as precision mechanics, automation, artificial intelligence, signal control, intelligent operation management and forecasting maintenance.
A high-speed railway line, or even an urban metro line, requires a very broad human resource ecosystem. From infrastructure design engineers, signal systems engineers, operating experts, maintenance workers, to technology research and development groups.
If only relying on imported technology and foreign experts, railway projects can be built, but it is very difficult to develop sustainably. Because operating, maintenance and technology upgrade costs in decades after that depend greatly on the capacity of the domestic technical team.
To operate a modern railway system effectively in the future, Vietnam needs to prepare a large and highly skilled workforce. However, this process cannot take place in a few years. It requires a long-term vision, coordination between the State, universities and businesses.
Universities need to soon expand and update training programs related to modern railways, from infrastructure techniques, train technology, signal systems to operation management. Businesses need to participate more deeply in the training process, helping students access technology reality right from when they are in the lecture hall.
The Government has issued a Decision approving the Project on training and developing human resources for Vietnamese railways to 2035, with orientations to 2045.
If the human resource problem is solved well, railway projects will not only help improve the transportation system but can also open up a new industry for Vietnam. This is a high-value-added sector with the potential to create many quality jobs.
From a long-term perspective, training and developing human resources for the railway industry is not only aimed at serving a few specific infrastructure projects. It also helps Vietnam gradually participate more deeply in the regional infrastructure industrial value chain.
The future of Vietnam's railway industry is not only on the blueprints of infrastructure projects, but also in university lecture halls, in practice workshops and in the process of human resource training starting right now.
