Google and the National Innovation Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment have launched two programs to support Vietnam's digital transformation process toward meeting its development goals.

The programs were debuted at a ceremony held at the NIC office in Hanoi on Friday with the theme of ‘Grow Together for a Better Future,’ as a result of the cooperation between NIC and Google.

One of these programs is ‘Google Career Certificates’ which provides digital talent training to increase job opportunities in the technology industry, while the other, ‘Google for Startups: Startup Academy,’ will offers assistance to Vietnam’s technological startups.

The programs are aimed at supporting Vietnam’s digital transformation toward achieving the country’s socio-economic development targets set for the 2021-30 period, the organizers said. 

Digital transformation, if fully utilized, is expected to bring an annual economic value of up to US$74 billion to Vietnam by 2030, according to the ‘Unlocking the Vietnam Digital Potential’ report released at the ceremony.

Two of the key action pillars to help fully harness the growth potential are developing the domestic technology ecosystem and providing digital skill training for workers and students, the report pointed out. 

Like in many other countries, Vietnamese businesses and their customers have been increasingly dependent on online communication and deals between Vietnamese businesses and their customers since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in early 2020.

Last year saw Vietnam record 5,600 new technology businesses, which led to high demand for digitally skilled workers in information technology and data analytics.

However, training programs in the IT sector have yet to keep up with the soaring need for high-quality digital human resources, resulting in an increasing gap between supply and demand of digital skills on the job market.

Stephanie Davis, vice-president at Google Asia-Pacific, affirmed the mission of providing digital opportunities for more people by helping to accelerate Vietnam’s digital transformation process, the Vietnam News Agency quoted her as saying.

The two programs are meant to create opportunities for more people by facilitating access to digital jobs and supporting Vietnamese entrepreneurs to develop their businesses, Stephanie said.

Addressing the event, Tran Quoc Phuong, Deputy Minister of Investment and Planning, said that Vietnam’s innovative ecosystem is now in its critical development stage, which requires a lot of investment and in-depth support to develop innovative startups and build digital human resources of high quality and meeting international standards.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!