Vietnam Investment Review, March 15, 2004
By Ngoc Mai
SINGAPOREAN education and training companies PSB Intellis and Cetana are to invest $4 million to set up a network of four business, IT and tourism schools in Vietnam.
The investment follows a business partnership agreement signed last week in Singapore, witnessed by Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
In a speech at the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum where the project was signed, the prime minister put strong emphasis on the importance of cooperation between the two countries in economic and other sectors.
PSB Corporation and Cetana Vietnam Company, a
subsidiary of Cetana Corporation, will build the first flagship
school, to be called Cetana PSB International College,
in Ho Chi Minh City.
The school, with a total cost of more than $1 million, will be housed in a sixstorey, 900 square metres building in District 5, the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. The school is expected to open by the middle of this year.
This is the first education venture by PSB Corporation in Vietnam. The corporation, with more than 30 years experience, has played a significant role in successfully transforming Singapore from a labour-intensive economy to a knowledge-based economy.
"PSB Corporation is excited about the growth in Vietnam, particularly the dynamism, energy and determination of its people," said Henry Heng, PSB Corporation CEO.
"We are delighted to be able to play a role in Vietnam's development through our partner, Cetana Vietnam. Through PSB Intellis -PSB Corporation's global education and training brand -we aim to provide practical and industry-relevant education," he said.
The education and training centres are expected to provide the Vietnamese workforce with internationally competitive skills and knowledge, highly relevant to Vietnam's emerging industry.
Mohan Coomaraswamy, generaldirector of Cetana Vietnam, said the centres would benefit the manufacturing and service sectors with a broad range of academic subjects.
"Graduates will possess world-class skills to meet employer's demand for good quality education and training, as well as the ability to cope with Vietnam's rapid industrialisation and modemisation," he said.
The centre will offer Vietnamese English proficiency programmes, and certificates and diplomas in a wide areas such as business administration, travel PSB said it aimed to provide training relevant to industry needs and tourism, information technology, human resource management, superVisory management, and hospitality management.
It will also offer working adults the opportunity to pursue part-time education to increase their career prospects.
The PSB diploma and advanced diploma programmes will be validated ! by the world-renowned University of Cambridge International Examinations, assuring quality and international recognition. They are also recognised by over 25 universities world wide.
The project will have special meaning as education and training systems in Vietnam have been criticised for being out of date and not having a wide enough ' curriculum. More than half of university graduates have to complete other occupational training courses to get a job, according to a recent survey by Ministry of Education and Training.
