From classroom to factory: Helping students understand professions, confidently building

Recently, 12th-grade students from Doi Can High School had a very different career orientation session—without blackboards or lesson plans—right at the Nui Phao Mining Company (NPMC). The program was co-organized by the Company and the School, aiming to help students access career information and experience a real working environment before standing on the threshold of career selection.

Understanding professions directly from those working in the field

This is the first time the students have had access to a large-scale mining enterprise right in their own homeland. At the beginning of the program, the students listened to candid sharing from the very people currently working at NPMC, including: geological engineers, mineral processing engineers, environmental specialists, safety officers, and laborers. Each career story was a vivid picture of the roadmap from the lecture halls to specific job positions.

A Senior Supervisor of Learning and Development from NPMC also updated the students on career trends for the next 10 years; core skills that students need to prepare right now; employment potential in Thai Nguyen; as well as groups of occupations at risk of being phased out by 2035… This is information that not every student in rural or mountainous areas has the opportunity to access.

Mr. Ngo Anh Tuan, Processing Continuous Improvement’s Acting Superintendent at NPMC, stated: “This program is part of the company’s series of training and capacity-building activities for the local community. We wish to companion the students in unlocking their personal potential and identifying job opportunities.“

The program provides students with information on career trends, the labor market, and actual recruitment demands at enterprises, so that they can form appropriate orientations for their next steps.

Confidently building careers right in the homeland

After the sharing and orientation session, the students directly toured the production area. The automated mineral processing lines, the modern central control room… opened up a world of industrial careers right on their homeland before their eyes.

The contrast between their initial imagination and reality became a powerful catalyst for thoughts about the future.

Mai Thao My, a student from class 12A8 at Doi Can High School, shared: “Before coming here, I thought Nui Phao was a very heavy and dangerous place to work. But through practical experience, I found it completely different from what I imagined. This place applies modern machinery and high technology to the mining process, which is tightly and strictly managed. Everyone’s processes and ways of working are very professional and responsible.“

Also from that experiential session, Mai Thao My began thinking about the fields of mechanical engineering and computer science technology. Thao My believed that: “In a year, Nui Phao contributed over 1,000 billion VND to the Vietnamese economy. That is the opportunity and potential for us to develop ourselves, and at the same time, it is also a way to contribute to our homeland.“

From an educational perspective, Ms. La Thi Mui, a teacher at Doi Can High School, assessed: “A career orientation program integrated with practical tours of business activities like this one at NPMC is highly practical. This activity helps students, especially 12th graders, experience a real working environment, thereby providing them with a better basis to choose a profession that suits their capabilities and personal interests, and guiding their future careers better.“

The door to careers has been opened in a very practical way for the students of Doi Can High School. When large enterprises like NPMC actively companion schools, students not only hear about professions but can also discover the working environment firsthand and receive career development guidance. From these practical experiences, many dreams and future orientations are formed. This is also the way to plant the first seeds for a high-quality future workforce for the Thai Nguyen region.

Source: Thai Nguyen News