Students lack experience for startups

Delegates share experiences about their business startups at a seminar for students held on Monday at the University of Food Industry in HCM City. - Photo Courtesy of VTVCorp.vn

Nguyen Hoai Thi, chairman of Viet An Group, said that before starting their own business, students should select one or two subjects and learn those well.

Thi spoke at a seminar on student startups held on Monday at the HCM City University of Food Industry.

To learn skills and gain experience, students should also attend contests organised by their universities, such as the HUFI Young Leader of the HCM City University of Food Industry.

“Contests teach us what we are bad at and what we can do better. If we experience failure, it doesn’t matter. Failure will teach us the way to achieve success,” Thi said.

He said that English classes should be taken at university because students will have little time to study English while working.

The first two years after graduation is the best time for graduates to learn new skills.

Students should try to apply for jobs in a company related to their university major to see if they are suited for the job.

“When they feel confident and have enough skills, then they can start their own business,” he added.

Last year, the country had 126,000 new enterprises, the highest figure in the last seven years.

Dương An Giang, accounting and administration general manager at Bridgestone Vietnam Tire Sales LLC, said that young people should have a “startup mindset” first and do their job well even though they are working at a company.

“They should take advantage of internships in companies when they are in their third or fourth year at university,” Giang said.

Tran Van Son, general director of Gia Bao Cashew Nuts Joint Stock Company, said that students should set goals and identify ways to reach them. He described the ways he approached his business and increased cashew exports.

The seminar was organised by the Vietnam Entrepreneur Development Centre, Vietnam Startup Network, the Universityof Food Industry, and CPVietnam Corporation.

On the same day, the Vietnam Startup Network kicked off the programme Startup Journey to help young people connect with startups in the country to learn from their experiences.

Dinh Thi Phuong, director of the Vietnam Entrepreneur Development Centre, said that more than 900 startup projects with 300 products received investment funds in 2016 and 2017.