Vietnam's government sees education as a top national priority and has managed to promote equal access to education throughout most of the market, resulting in a largely skilled and competitive workforce. That said, the Vietnamese labour market offers one of the smallest estimated proportions of formally educated workforce in the South East Asia region and registers poor educational standards at the tertiary level. The government has been introducing several government initiatives and incentives to better link education, training and skill and promote entrepreneurship, which we expect will considerably improve the talent pool of workers overtime. Recent minimum wage hikes are unlikely to negatively affect the market's overall appeal for investment as Vietnam's labour costs remain low by regional standards. The Vietnam Education & Labour Report assesses the labour market risks facing businesses and investors in Vietnam regarding the availability, direct and indirect cost of labour and skills depth of the labour force. Availability of Labour: This segment analyses the main risks facing businesses regarding the size and composition of the labour force. The Report leverages data from the BMI’s Operational Risk Index to provide robust profiles of the potential workforce. These include overall population in employment, the size of the potential labour force, female participation, life expectancy, and forecasts for workforce size by sector. This section also looks at the healthcare expenditure per capita, the migrant population as a share of the total population and labour mobility through aspects such as regulatory requirements for foreign workers and urbanization rates. Skills: Assessing the potential pressures facing businesses requiring a skilled labour force with secondary or tertiary education qualifications. This covers the quality, density and graduation rates for primary, secondary and tertiary education, with a particular focus on engineering, science, mathematics and technological skills. It also evaluates the basic skill set of the workforce, literacy and numeracy rates, and the quality of the primary educational infrastructure, compared with the wider region. Labour Costs: This covers the challenges presented by regulations governing labour taxes, wages, annual leave, severance pay requirements, and foreign worker visas. It assesses the costs of employment that face businesses and investors. It also evaluates risk stemming from unionisation and strike activity, and the comparative rigidity of the labour market around regulations that can make it difficult to adjust workforce needs in response to economic shifts.