Hanoi (VNA/VNS) – Dao Thanh Chien, a university graduate from the central provinceof Thanh Hoa, earns a monthly average of 8 million VND (355 USD) selling icetea and driving a motorbike taxi, not from working as a public official as hewished after graduating from the university.

Chien, like many other graduates, had to give up his dream of joining the Statepayroll after spending five years seeking jobs suitable for his universitytraining.

“I had to try to work temporary jobs for a long time while waiting for asuitable job. The temporary jobs range from security guard to marketing todriving motorbike taxi and selling ice tea,” he told Nong thon Ngaynay (Countryside Today) newspaper.

There are months Chien can earn up to 15 million VND (666 USD), the amountwhich is considered a dream for many public officials.

Chien is among more than one million unemployed of working age in the country.

Around 200,000 university graduates are forecast to be unemployed this year, accordingto the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

An estimated 100,000 university graduates are working simple jobs which requireno degrees.

Nguyen Van Don, an admin of Grabbike Hanoi, told the newspaper that most ofdrivers were students and unemployed graduates. Graduates who could not findjobs account for one third of his group’s staff.

“It is usual for full-time drivers to earn between 12-15 million VND permonth,” he said.

Unemployment among graduates is not a new issue, and it is popular to seeuniversity graduates drive motorbike taxi or selling ice, according to NguyenThi Lan Huong, an employment expert from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs.

Tran Van Hung, deputy director of the Human Resources Training Demand Forecastand Development Centre under the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences,told the newspaper that it is usual for unemployed university graduates todrive motorbike taxis or sell ice tea to earn a living, and he argued that thissituation exists in every society.

However, it remains a huge waste of human resources and training cost, he said.

The rate of unemployed graduates increased partly because many graduates werenot active enough to find suitable jobs, he said.

Director of the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs Dao Quang Vinhagreed that tens of thousands of university graduates continue unemployment andthis is a huge waste for families and the society too.

However, it should be noted that not only Vietnam but also many other countriesface a high rate of unemployment among university graduates.

There are many reasons leading to the problem, including both subjective andobjective ones, he said. Key causes include insufficient market information andcareer consultancy and guidance, training quality at universities and educationalestablishment and loose connection between labour supply and demand.

At a recent online dialogue with young people, First Secretary of the CentralCommittee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Le Quoc Phong saiduniversity graduates should expand opportunities to seek jobs in differentlocalities in the country. They should not only expect to find jobs in bigcities and urban areas.

There are many job opportunities in remote, rural and mountainous areas, hesaid.

It is the responsibility of authorised agencies to provide information aboutthe labour market for graduates, but they themselves should take a wider andmore flexible view toward jobs after graduation, he said.

The Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is actively workingwith the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to form solutions tosupport graduates to find jobs, Phong added.

Such solutions are expected to help graduates to earn suitable jobs.

Still, Chien said “I’m used to these temporary jobs, and I’ve decided to stickto driving a motorbike taxi and selling ice tea. I have no plan to seek anotherjob.”-VNA