In early July 2019, the first batch of technical college students from Bacninh College of Industry graduated from the ABB Apprenticeship Program.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution with the application of innovative technologies is already starting to have an impact on the human resources market, with rising demand for competent staff especially in engineering and manufacturing. Despite the fact that Vietnam is considered as a country with abundant labor resources due to its young population, technology companies like ABB face some difficulty in recruiting skilled workers.

Aiming to provide practical work experience for technical college students, since 2017 ABB has collaborated with Bacninh College of Industry to develop an apprenticeship program with a dual-training model. Students were selected based not just on their academic record but also on their potential to pursue their ambitions to follow a career path in engineering.

The first five students received graduation certificate in early July 2019

“ABB attaches great importance to the development of Industry 4.0 in Vietnam as well as practical training programs for future engineers and shop-floor workforce,” said Brian Hull, Country Managing Director of ABB in Vietnam. “By nurturing engineering talents, we believe the ABB Apprenticeship will help prepare a pool of high quality staff with practical work experience in a global working environment with exceptional standards for integrity and safety.”

“Our vision is to develop practical technicians who can adapt to real world challenges in advanced manufacturing facilities as soon as they join the workforce.” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Luu, Rector of Bac Ninh College of Industry. “To make this happen, we need technology partners like ABB. We are very grateful for their commitment and we hope to continue this partnership in the future with ABB”.

Students are given opportunities to practise on the real machines at ABB factory in BacNinh

Besides learning core theory lessons at the school, participating students have a chance to practice with real machines and technologies at the ABB factory in BacNinh province, one of the most modern factories in the north of Vietnam, with the instruction and supervision from ABB’s experts. The training modules are tailor-made in alignment with the subjects being taught in the college while addressing Industry 4.0 trends and reinforcing core corporate values such as Health, Safety and Continuous Improvement. The students are also eligible for financial support from ABB in the form of allowance and tuition fee. Up till now, 15 students majoring in mechanical and electrical engineering have joined the program for the period of 2019-2021.