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Work-Integrated Learning for Enhancing Graduate Employability: Moving from the Periphery to the Centre of the Curriculum

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Book cover Reforming Vietnamese Higher Education

Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 50))

Abstract

The chapter draws on an Australian branch campus case in Vietnam. It addresses how work-integrated learning (WIL) is incorporated into curriculum, pedagogies and institutional support. The findings show that WIL enhances students’ work readiness, strengthens industry linkages and improves graduate employability. WIL should therefore be shifted from the periphery to the core of curriculum, teaching and learning, and institutional policy making. It calls for a joint effort of different stakeholders including students, academics, institution support staff, employers, policy makers and related communities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Retrieved from https://www.flinders.edu.au/ppmanual/teaching-course-management/guidelines-design-work-integrated-learning.cf

  2. 2.

    The USAID COMET project aims to help 20 higher education institutions and train 120,000 youths with skills in demand in the Lower Mekong region. Countries participating in and benefitting from this project include Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. These skills are, lists USAID, the ability to adapt to the new technologies, team work, communication and interpersonal skills. Via the MekongSkills2Work Network, university and vocational instructors were trained in dynamic classroom approaches. Intel, Cisco and Microsoft participated as industrial partners and provided mentorship, workshops for “women in technology” and externship to Austin, Texas, and build professional network within this Lower Mekong region.

  3. 3.

    The POHE project was funded by the Dutch Government. It tackled the challenges that Vietnamese graduates had been facing when entering the labour market.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash College, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Nhai Thi Nguyen

  2. Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Ly Thi Tran & Truc Thi Thanh Le

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  1. Nhai Thi Nguyen
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  1. Monash College, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Nhai Thi Nguyen

  2. Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Ly Thi Tran

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Nguyen, N.T., Tran, L.T., Le, T.T.T. (2019). Work-Integrated Learning for Enhancing Graduate Employability: Moving from the Periphery to the Centre of the Curriculum. In: Nguyen, N.T., Tran, L.T. (eds) Reforming Vietnamese Higher Education. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 50. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8918-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8918-4_7

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