Da Nang’s IT human resources have yet to meet local recruiters’ requirements, especially in the current context of deeper global integration process. One of the major challenges facing the city-based IT businesses is a severe shortage of high-quality IT employees, especially those who show off foreign language proficiency, and other essential soft skills.

How to deal with a severe shortage of highly skilled human resources is still a ‘headache’ for local IT businesses

According to the latest statistics released by the Da Nang Department of Information and Communications, the city is now home to about 700 IT enterprises with a combined total of more than 24,500 employees.

In the aspect of hardware, there are not many challenges in recruiting electronic human resources, whilst businesses involved in the software and digital content industries are suffering a ‘headache’ in employing highly qualified ones.

Currently, the number of employees working in the city’s software and digital content industries only stands at 9,500, and this figure must reach 19,500 by 2020 to meet the demand.

Mr Vuong Quang Hung, the Director of the Da Nang Industrial Park- located Da Nang branch of RikkeiSoft, said his company possesses a total of 110 employees, of whom about 68% are programmers. The city branch of RikkeiSoft is now in desperate need of a total of about 200 programmers, project managers, bridge engineers, and interpreters.

Mr Dang Ngoc Hai, the Director of the Da Nang branch of the Axon Active Viet Nam Company, pointed out to the fact that, despite their relatively high professional skills, local IT employees now still lack career orientations, soft skills, initiatives, and the ability to self-study and access new technologies. As a result, these limitations have adversely affected the competitiveness of local IT human resources.

Mr Dang Ngoc Hai, the Director of the Da Nang branch of the Axon Active Viet Nam Company, at a meeting on the present quality of local IT human resources

In order to address this issue of deep concern, domestic IT experts underlined the significance of ensuring a synchronous coordination between businesses and training establishments to fully tap each other's strengths.

Currently, universities and colleges across the city are focusing on providing their IT students with international standard training programmes in a bid to help them meet their future job recruitment requirements after their graduation.

Through their bilateral cooperation programmes, the universities of Duy Tan, Economics, and Science and Technology are facilitating their students to attend internships at some IT companies, in addition to the organisation of IT festivals and other related events.

Da Nang People's Committee Standing Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung re-affirmed his city’s firm stances in spearheading IT sector for the local socio-economic progress. He also highlighted the important role of skilled human resources in creating IT products bearing the Vietnamese brand names.

During the ongoing 2018 – 2020 period, the city’s IT human resources is being developed in terms of both quality and quantity. At the same time, appeals are being made to attract even more high-quality IT personnel from other countries worldwide.

In order to enhance the practical knowledge for students, over recent years some educational institutions in Da Nang have cooperated with local IT businesses to introduce the Agile model to their students.

In particular, since 2011, Axon Active Viet Nam has been working with the Da Nang University of Technology and Science (DUT) to replace a subject about traditional software development process with an Agile training course which is entirely taught in English, and features a harmonious combination of simulation activities, doing IT projects, and making presentations instead of just studying theory.