At the same time, the local administrations will contribute nearly VND400 billion (US$25 million) to the programme.

The news was disclosed recently by Chu Quang Cuong, Head of the Department for Planning and Finance under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

The funding will help build more vocational training establishments for the region, thus bringing the total numbers to 11 colleges, 20 schools and 119 centres at the district levels. They include two vocational training schools for ethnic minority students.

MOLISA has also decided to upgrade the Vinh Long technical teachers’ training school into a university to provide some 2,000 graduates for the region by the end of the decade.

It is one of the ministry’s comprehensive plan to train an additional 4,000 technical teachers over the next four years.

The Mekong Delta is lagging far behind the rest of the nation in the rate of vocational students.