19 September 2005

Hanoi, Viet Nam: Learning English and Information Technology (IT) skills are on the agenda for a group of Vietnamese women participating in an employment training initiative launched today in the Viet Nam capital.

A joint initiative of Cisco Systems, the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the one-year project will help 40 destitute women -- mainly rehabilitating sex workers and drug users -- acquire the necessary skills to reintegrate into society and find jobs. The women are residents of the Social Education and Labour Centre No. 2 in Ba Vi, a government-run rehabilitation centre which provides women with medical treatment, education and training.

With technical support from the Bach Khoa Networking Academy in the Hanoi University of Technology, UN Volunteers from Viet Nam and abroad will teach at the Ba Vi facility English and a standardized IT training curriculum developed by Cisco.

UNV Programme Officer in Viet Nam Koen Van Acoleyen said the women on finishing the training will be ready to enter the workforce. "This project is highly innovative as it does not only provide the residents of the Ba Vi centre with internationally recognized IT training, but also provides support in English and job placement,” he said.

The UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP in Viet Nam, Mr. Jordan Ryan, said the training initiative reflects current labour demand. “The IT sector is growing fast in Viet Nam and we need more skilled people – more skilled women – to work with Cisco and other companies who will lead this hi-tech transition in the Vietnamese economy,” he said. “This [project] is an excellent example of like-minded partners coming together from both the public and private sectors… all sharing resources for the same goal – to help the women in this community in a very tangible and sustainable manner.”

In 2004, Cisco Systems and UNV Viet Nam conducted a training needs assessment at the Ba Vi centre, confirming the women’s interest in receiving IT training. The assessment equally stressed the necessity to combine the training with English and job placement support.

“Being a world-leading IT company and a community-focused institution, Cisco is very honoured to contribute its efforts to enable women residents of the centre to rehabilitate into a better life,” said James Chia, Country Manager of Cisco Systems Viet Nam.

“One of the strengths of this project is that it will draw on the contribution of a diversity of volunteers,” said Mr. Ryan. “A group of UN Volunteers, national and international, will deliver the training courses, provide employment support and build partnerships with private companies and development agencies to secure job placements.”