On 23^rd Jan, 2021, Hoa Sen University (HSU) - a member of Nguyen Hoang Education Group - solemnly held the 37^th Graduation Ceremony to celebrate 811 HSU Master's and Bachelor's graduates. Attending the ceremony, Mr. Brian O'Reily - President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam gave his remarks and congratulations to the graduates. Please find below Mr. Brian O'Reily's remarks.

"Graduates, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly, my sincere congratulations to all of the graduates on your achievements at Hoa Sen University. You are being rewarded for all of your hard work and are now ready to transition into the workforce and start, what I hope are, very successful careers. I would now like to provide an overview of Australian Vietnam relations, the possible opportunities for you as graduates to work with Australian companies, and how you can prepare for these opportunities.

Bilateral links between Australia and Vietnam have developed significantly since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973. In 2017, Australia and Vietnam announced that the bilateral relationship would be elevated to a Strategic Partnership and, on 15 March 2018, the Vietnamese Prime Minister and the then Australian Prime Minister signed a Joint Statement on the “Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between Australian and Vietnam” in Canberra, Australia.

This strategic partnership reflects Australia and Vietnam's mature and diverse bilateral relationship, encompassing wide-ranging cooperation in many areas including trade and investment, agribusiness, and education.  Vietnam is one of Australia's fastest-growing trade markets in the ASEAN region, averaging 11.9 per cent in annual growth. Vietnam should also soon become one of Australia’s top 10 trading partners and vice versa. The Australian Government and Australian businesses are now strongly focussing on Vietnam as a high priority destination for foreign direct investment and other forms of trade. The states of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland are all opening, or have already opened, trade offices here.

Covid 19 has also had an impact on the Vietnam Australia relationship. Before the recent epidemic Vietnam was an attractive destination for Australian businesses. Vietnam was seen as a global economy and is part of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN). ASEAN has also formed a partnership with Australia and New Zealand through the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). However, Vietnam’s impeccable handling of the crisis has meant that Australia will focus more on Vietnam as a trading partner.

For graduates, there will be many possible opportunities to obtain jobs with both Australian companies trading with Vietnam and also Vietnamese companies trading with Australia. Australian business will be looking for talented and well educated people with an international outlook to help set up and/or drive their business growth in Vietnam. They will be looking for people across many industries and many different roles. Some of the key industries are as follows: food and beverage; agribusiness; education and training; information and communications technology (ICT); tourism. 

These opportunities will also be there for many other countries too. However, you will need to do your research and find out what types of jobs are available, which ones may be suitable to you, and where the jobs are advertised. Don’t rely on the jobs coming to you need to chase the jobs. 

So, if you are interested in what do you need to do to prepare yourself for these opportunities?

• Australia is an English speaking country so improve your English as much as possible.
• Learn about Australia, especially its economy and its business culture.
• Research what is happening between Australia and Vietnam with regards to trade.
• Identify specific companies that you may be interested in.
• Knowledge is one thing, however, have you developed an understanding of what you have learnt to be able to apply it in the workplace?
• Develop your skills, especially your cognitive and soft skills. Australian companies will be after people who can think creatively, make decisions, and get the job done.

If you find a job that you are interested in, find out as much as possible about the company and identify how you can add value to that company. Be professional and thorough in your approach, have a professional LinkedIn page. In addition, the Australian Chamber of Commerce represents Australian businesses in Vietnam so use it as a starting point for your investigation of Australian businesses in Vietnam.

Again I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to all of you who have graduated here today. I wish you all a successful career and there will be many opportunities as the relationship between Vietnam and Australia continues to grow and prosper. Remember that Australian business will be looking for talented people like you to help them succeed in Vietnam.

Practice life-long-learning and take responsibility for your life. Be proud of your achievements and remember this is just the end of the beginning and not the beginning of the end.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” - Henry David Thoreau"