How is the vocational training regime for prisoners regulated?

Lao Dong Newspaper Legal Consulting Office replied:

Article 15 of Decree 118/2024/ND-CP (effective from November 15, 2024) detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments, stipulates the vocational training regime for prisoners as follows:

1. Based on the prisoner's ability, educational level, health, gender, labor market, specific conditions and ability to cooperate with organizations and individuals, the prison organizes teaching of common and simple occupations or organizes training to improve skills for prisoners; the prison cooperates with vocational training institutions or vocational training centers (with legal status as prescribed by law) to organize vocational training, improve skills, and transfer skills to prisoners.

2. Prisoners under 18 years old, prisoners between the ages of youth and 30 who have no job, prisoners with sentences of less than 5 years and about to complete their prison sentences are given priority in vocational training and skill improvement. Each prisoner is only allowed to learn 1 profession.

3. Vocational training plan, vocational training program for prisoners.

a) Based on the capital source and annual plan, the prison shall develop its vocational training plan and send it to the Criminal Judgment Execution Management Agency under the Ministry of Public Security (for prisons managed by the Ministry of Public Security) or the Criminal Judgment Execution Management Agency under the Ministry of National Defense (for prisons managed by the Ministry of National Defense) for approval. The content of the vocational training plan includes the legal basis, training profession, number of classes, number of inmates, location, training form, level and expected training time, estimated vocational training budget, and funding source. Inmates receiving vocational training shall be trained at the elementary level or regularly;

b) Elementary vocational training program for prisoners: The minimum training program is 300 hours with 3 learning units including vocational knowledge, practical skills, and attitudes towards the profession being learned, with implementation time from 3 months to less than 1 year. The content and structure of the elementary training program must ensure scientific, systematic, practicality, consistent use of easy-to-understand words, and be equivalent to the elementary training objectives as prescribed in Clause 1 and Point a, Clause 2, Article 4 of the Law on Vocational Education 2014, in accordance with the national vocational skills framework and standards;

c) Regular vocational training program for prisoners: Prisoners are trained in vocational training in the form of vocational training, vocational mentoring, and apprenticeship, with actual learning time from 100 hours to less than 300 hours and a course duration of less than 3 months. The regular training program ensures that learners have the capacity to perform the work of the profession, increase labor productivity, and after completing the training, prisoners can perform simple work, one or some parts of a job, and have knowledge of occupational safety and hygiene;

d) Vocational training programs and contents are assessed by the Training Program Appraisal Council and approved and issued by the head of the training institution.

4. The criminal enforcement management agencies under the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall, based on actual conditions and the labor market, prescribe training sectors and occupations for prisoners.

Thus, the vocational training regime for prisoners is regulated as above.