Co-ordination mechanisms between TVET and enterprises in different economic sectors are eminently important for the relevance of TVET to both employers and job seekers. Such mechanisms, linkages and “bridges” between training providers and companies cannot follow one uniform design or format under different economic, social and cultural circumstances. In addition, there are a multitude of stakeholders in training, with varying and sometimes conflicting interests, objectives and priorities; and these stakeholders are not the same in every country.

In 2007, the Vietnamese General Directorate for Vocational Training (GDVT) organized a workshop in order to establish closer links between training providers and companies in the various sectors of the Vietnamese economy. One of the leading ideas was to scrutinize the Vietnamese experiences and examine them against those in neighbouring countries which have some cultural features in common with Vietnam: Thailand, the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. In addition, experts from a country well-reputed for linking company- and school-based TVET, namely Germany, were invited, which enabled the participants of the workshop to take part in a captivating dialogue between different cultures about the varying approaches and the solutions found in the Asian and European contexts. This offered food for thought about what TVET in Vietnam might ideally look like.