Vietnam’s labour market is exposing a harsh paradox: nearly 30% of the more than 1 million people currently unemployed hold college or university degrees or higher. The serious mismatch between theoretical training and real-world needs is painting a painful picture of wasted social resources.
More alarmingly, this scenario of “too many masters, too few craftsmen” and “hollow practical skills” is repeating itself almost exactly in a new, more fashionable and more expensive wave: the race for ESG (Environmental – Social – Governance) credentials.
The question now is: Do Vietnamese businesses really need shiny ESG certificates?
From the macro credentials trap to the “thousand-dollar certificate” craze
As technical barriers such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and stringent reporting standards from international markets arrive, sustainable development has become a matter of survival. Immediately, the market witnessed a rush to study ESG. Everyone is looking for courses and European- or American-standard certificates costing thousands of US dollars to polish their CVs.
But there is a truth few dare to face: Many ESG certificates today are “all name and no substance”.
Many professionals hold glossy international certificates and can recite grandiose terminology by heart, yet once they are sent to the factory floor and stand in front of a production line, they are completely stuck. They struggle when faced with raw data, do not know how to break down electricity and water bills, do not know how to calculate the company’s actual emissions, and still less can they prepare a proper GHG inventory report themselves.
Businesses pay for their staff to study, only to receive macro-level essays detached from reality, while their export products still risk being rejected for lack of evidence-based indicators. The answer to the question “Do businesses need these certificates?” is clearly No, if they do not deliver real transformational value.
A strategic imperative: Train what the market needs
“We must shift decisively from the mindset of training what we have to training what the labour market and society need; from emphasising degrees to emphasising competence and practical skills.”
This landmark instruction from General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm is not only a macro vision for the economy, but also a vital imperative for the green transition of Vietnamese businesses right now.
On the global ESG playing field, international importers do not score companies on the number of certificates their staff hold. What they look at is whether the company’s products have reduced their carbon content and whether its processes are transparent. The only yardstick that helps businesses survive and go the distance is hands-on capabilityand effective application in production.
Vietnamese businesses — especially in manufacturing, textiles and garments, footwear and food — do not need “elite” thinking with its head in the clouds. What they need right now is a genuinely capable workforce that:
- Knows how to set foot on the shop floor and inventory greenhouse gases down to the smallest emission source.
- Knows how to use digital tools to optimise data and make reporting transparent.
- Knows how to turn knowledge into concrete actions that cut energy costs, optimise waste treatment processes and directly increase the competitive value of products.
Change the recruitment yardstick: Make effectiveness the ultimate standard
To avoid slamming shut the door to breakthrough and being pushed out of global supply chains, ESG training and practice in Vietnam needs a comprehensive revolution in thinking:
- For learners and ESG professionals: Stop lulling yourselves with the glitter of purely theoretical certificates. Make “green labour productivity” the measure of competence. A professional who can use technology solutions to digitalise processes and personally complete an accurate emissions report for the company is worth a hundred times more than a CV overflowing with certificates but empty of practical skills.
- For businesses: It is time to change recruitment and management standards. Answer the question with action: Say “No” to expensive courses that are hard to apply. Prioritise a genuinely capable workforce — people who understand the operational specifics of domestic businesses and know how to “democratise” ESG into down-to-earth solutions.
Conclusion
Changing the way we think about training, starting today, is the only launchpad for raising the nation’s standing. It is time for businesses and workers to have the courage to step away from the glamour of certificates and pursue real value.
Studying ESG is about making green products, protecting supply chains and creating real value for businesses, not about embellishing a CV. Only when knowledge is turned into hands-on capability on the ground can Vietnamese businesses become self-reliant and take off firmly towards a prosperous and sustainable future.
