The "healing" profession is very hot, by 2025 it will need about 5.5 million workers.

On May 4, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized the 2024 Career Orientation Festival to serve the recruitment, training and development of human resources in culture, arts, sports and tourism.

Attending the festival, students had their questions answered in the discussion "Training in culture, arts, sports and tourism in the digital transformation period and job opportunities for students after graduation".

Tourism human resources are lacking everywhere.

Sharing at the seminar, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Cong Tuan, Vice Principal of Hanoi University of Culture, said that the school has over 30 years of experience in training in tourism. Currently, the school is training in two related majors: tourism and cultural management.

According to Mr. Tuan, tourism is one of the hottest majors at the school, with a relatively high entrance score compared to other majors. "Students who study tourism after graduation do not fear unemployment because the demand of society is still very high," Mr. Tuan affirmed.

"During the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year, a lot of people went for "healing". According to statistics, there were about 9 million visitors who participated in "healing" during the recent holidays, an increase of 14.2% over the same period last year. Of which, more than 3 million were overnight visitors. This shows that the tourism industry is very hot," said Mr. Tuan.

Mr. Bui Tat Hieu, Vice Principal of Hanoi College of Tourism - informed that currently in most provinces/cities across the country there is a large shortage of human resources in the tourism industry.

According to the report of the National Tourism Administration, it is expected that by 2025 Vietnam will welcome about 18 million international visitors, requiring about 5.5 million workers. This will be both an opportunity and a challenge for those pursuing this field.

According to Mr. Hieu, in order to be able to "practice" well after graduation, tourism students need to have a solid grasp of professional knowledge and skills. They must learn about culture, history, geography, tourism marketing, and tourism overview. If they study to be tour guides, students must be equipped with knowledge about tour guides, tourism service management, etc.

"Especially, in the digital transformation period, students must be well prepared in terms of knowledge of technology and foreign languages. In addition to professional knowledge, they must also prepare professional skills in presentation, group management, leadership skills, and problem solving...

In the tourism sector, we must always seek and develop our own abilities, pay attention to cultural and environmental issues, and especially respect customers throughout the journey," said Mr. Hieu.

Learn cải lương, tuong, don't worry about unemployment

Dr. People's Artist Le Tuan Cuong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cheo Theater, shared that currently recruiting students for the Cai Luong and Tuong theater arts is very difficult. Mr. Cuong advised students not to be afraid to pursue traditional arts because "they are afraid of not having a job after graduation".

"In fact, the performing arts are the source of the nation, the philosophy of life, the father's poems, the mother's lullabies. For that reason, students should not be afraid that after graduating from studying traditional arts, they will not have a job. Rest assured, theaters across the country are ready to welcome you," said Mr. Cuong.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thi, Vice Principal of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema - added that recently, the State has had many preferential policies for students studying in the arts, especially in specific fields such as dance, traditional theater, students are exempted from 70% of tuition fees and many other preferential policies.

According to Mr. Thi, in 2024, the school will enroll students in a new major, digital content production director. Mr. Thi said that this is a major with a large demand for human resources at television stations, media companies, and media companies.

With the acting major, from this year the school will also open a new major: musical actor.

Ms. Pham Hoai Diep - representative of Western University in Vietnam - said that many people pursuing information technology and business administration are worried that AI can replace many jobs in the future. However, according to Ms. Diep, for students studying culture, arts, sports and tourism, this is a golden time for development.

"When reading a series of reports from the Association of Universities in the UK and the US Department of Labor, it is known that in the next 5 years, the labor force in the arts, culture, sports and tourism will have a demand for human resources increasing by up to 30%.

When AI can support work, people will have more time to spend on areas such as culture, learning art, exercising, traveling... I think this will be a golden time for students studying these fields," Ms. Diep shared.