Comprehensive investment advances global playing field

INTEK wants to change impressions of talented IT professionals

Industry 4.0 is flocking to every field and industry, requiring a large workforce with certain understanding of machinery and technology. According to the Vietnam Developer Report 2019 by IT recruitment platform TopDev, Vietnam is lacking about 90,000 IT specialists and in 2019, the number is projected to reach 100,000 in 2020 and 190,000 in 2021.

TopDev experts analysed that the reason leading to the rapid growth in IT personnel demand is the landing of regional technology companies in Vietnam to set up product development teams. In addition, the wave of innovative IT startups is also raging, resulting in high demand in fields related to fintech such as AI, data science, big data, and cybersecurity.

The question is how to recruit a large number of highly-qualified IT engineers to meet the increasingly stringent requirements from businesses – a real uphill matter for training institutions and IT enterprises in Vietnam.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training showed that the country currently has 153 IT training institutes with an annual number of about 50,000 students, yet, only 30 per cent of them are able to work right away after their training, with the remaining 70 per cent in need of additional training or retraining.

It takes an average of three to five years to complete a bachelor programme in IT at universities in Vietnam and students have very little practice time during their courses. Other than FPT, which is now proactive in IT human resources thanks to the availability of its training institutes to self-sufficient labour, large technology enterprises in Vietnam such as Viettel, VNPT or Vingroup have been facing difficulties finding suitable employees. Viettel recently announced plans to recruit 500 IT personnel per year with an average monthly salary starting at $1,000. VNPT is also calling for some 5,000 IT engineers. Meanwhile, Vingroup has placed orders with 50 universities with a commitment to receive about 100,000 IT graduates in the next 10 years.

On the other hand, vice president of the Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association Phi Anh Tuan stated that domestic IT training programmes are nowhere near meeting the demands of society, especially in high-quality engineers training. At present, only about a quarter of the IT labour force can meet the requirements.

In response to these urgent requirements, the emergence of INTEK with its mission of pioneering the digital education revolution has contributed significantly to saving training time and nursing new generations of IT engineers not only with high capacity but also full soft skills to confidently conquer the globe.

Founded in January 2018, the INTEK Institute in Ho Chi Minh City is the home base for the next generation of skilled IT professionals with a radically innovative approach: no lecturers and no lectures. With the desire to offer a professional study environment, INTEK's classroom model is designed to be an open space office where students learn to work autonomously.

Jennie Hoang Phuong, INTEK’s chief marketing officer cum director of admissions expressed her ambitions. “We want to build a learning environment just like the real world of IT, where our students will come to work after graduating,” she said.

According to Phuong, the different approach that INTEK offers students is the shortened study time while skills and work experience are doubled. With the motto of “halving time, doubling efforts”, INTEK’s apprentices only spend one to two years to get their technology engineering degree, which is valued globally and doubles as a passport for them to work at any technology company in any country around the world.

To accomplish that desire, INTEK students are not only trained in professional skills but also need to cultivate more soft skills such as English language, presentational and teamwork skills, personal marketing and branding techniques, and social interaction.

INTEK has removed the stereotypes about emotionless and quiet IT engineers. Instead it is now a generation of energetic and talented IT heroes. Phuong explained, “Instead of treating as normal students, we call them INTEKers and let them know what pressures a real IT engineer will face after graduation, when entering the working environment. Therefore, they are very willing to encounter a huge workload.”

In addition to promoting initiative in learning, INTEK also attaches great importance to creating an environment where students have more opportunities to practice. The association between INTEK and major technology companies will help students acquire more practice opportunities, improve their skills faster, and have a rich working experience right during the period of being trainees. This will drive future IT heroes to become battle-ready and enables them to embrace the digital revolution.