Differing Cultural Perceptions of High School Employment: A Vietnam Case Study

By David Nguyen

In the United States, high school employment remains a significant source of work experience and income for secondary school students. However, high school employment remains limited in many other countries, particularly in developing countries. In this study, we do what is, to our knowledge, the first analysis of one such nation – Vietnam – and the attitude of students and employers towards high school employment in the country. For our analysis, we created two sets of original surveys on attitudes towards employment and distributed the surveys to over 345 students. Based on our research, we found that students in Vietnam prioritise work experience less than their American peers, and Vietnamese employers also place less value on the potential of skills acquired during internships.

Introduction

Research has shown that cultural beliefs significantly encourage or discourage high school employment.¹ (By “high school employment,” we refer to a situation where a high school student undertakes employment, paid or unpaid, with a company or organisation during the course of their high school career.) For example, in the United States, previous studies showed that middle-class respondents had a positive view of high school employment, believing that work in high school improves character and skills development.¹ In other countries, particularly those with more Confucian values, the public views secondary employment differently, often seeing it as a distraction from academics.²

Proponents of student employment, particularly in a Western context, argue that working part-time during high school encourages the development of vital personal skills, such as responsibility and reliability. However, a review of previous literature on employment in high school students has shown that the majority of students work within the retail and service industry.⁴ Some argue that this type of employment does not correctly educate or prepare students for adult occupational roles, does not foster the psychological maturity or development required for adult employment, and, in some cases, restricts academic success.³ Other research suggests that high school employment has insignificant short- or long-term effects on grades and academic success.³

Even within the United States, ethnic groups have different attitudes towards teen employment. White students are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to work throughout the year. For instance, 39.5 per cent of white teenagers worked over the summer in 2021, compared to 20.2 per cent of Asian-American teenagers.

In the United States, available research suggests a broadly positive view of employment on the part of students, families, and companies. A recent Internships.com survey found that 77 per cent of high school students in the United States are either extremely or very interested in taking an internship to gain job experience, compared to only 63 per cent of college students. Some businesses respond accordingly; 50 per cent of the 326 firms surveyed openly offer high school internships.⁵

However, when looking at developing Asian economies such as Vietnam, a little research paints a different picture about the attitudes towards, and experiences of, high school student employment. Despite the potential value of high school employment, little data is available that monitors high school studentsʼ experiences and perspectives in Vietnam. This study seeks to cover that data gap and emphasise the untapped potential of Vietnamʼs increasingly creative and driven younger population, defining the future of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Methodology

To understand the cultural perception of internships in Vietnam, we embarked on a three-part research approach. First, we surveyed 241 students in Vietnam at the high school and university levels on their perception of employment. Next, we launched a second, more in-depth survey for 104 recipients, focusing on high school students in Vietnam. Finally, we spoke with 18 senior executives from prominent organisations to corroborate our results from the employerʼs perspective. These organisations include MoMo, Vietnam’s largest fintech company, and VNG, Vietnamʼs largest internet and technology firm.

We collected data on the studentsʼ internship status and summer activities in the first survey via school channels and one-on-one interviews. In the survey, we describe internships as a position in which a student works in a company, often unpaid, to get work experience or fulfill qualifying criteria. We also asked for background data on ethnic background, sex, age, and household income. In the second survey, we collected the same background data but included questions about high school internships and other associated high school activities. The second survey asks students to rank several summer activities in order of importance and explain why they chose that order.

Results

In our first survey of 241 Vietnamese students, 44 per cent of secondary students reported being “very interested” in taking an internship to gain work experience, compared to 86 per cent of college students. However, 88 per cent of those surveyed stated that it was challenging to find appropriate internships. Similarly, 13 out of 18 senior executives of several organisations surveyed believed that most high school students are too young and lack the knowledge to contribute any real value to their organisation.

We wanted to find out what form of work opportunity was most appealing and why students did and did not seek out internships. Hence, we conducted a second survey focused on high school students. We discovered that these students favoured experiences with better-perceived status and future learning opportunities. In particular, 78 per cent of students said they prefer an unpaid internship to a paid job if it offered a more rewarding experience. Obtaining an internship at a company where students can gain helpful knowledge, experience, skills, and long-lasting connections is the second most-important activity students can engage in during the summer, falling only behind preparing for a standardised test or a future exam. All students reported that their parents supported them in taking employment during their high school years.

Our second survey additionally showed that personal connections, instead of more formal means, are the most common method of obtaining internships in Vietnam for high school students. In particular, 84 per cent of students in Vietnam reported finding or being offered internships through connections with families and business owners. Interestingly, when we looked at comparable surveys of more-developed nations (the United States, Singapore, and South Korea), we found that 88 per cent of these respondents used formal methods to find an internship, such as applying directly on the companyʼs website or mailing their c.v. directly to them.

Notably, the majority of respondents in Vietnam who found internships through informal methods had higher household income than respondents who utilised more formal methods such as sending their c.v. directly to the firm. These formal methods favoured by lower-income respondents were mostly unsuccessful; only 15 per cent of respondents reported successfully finding an internship. Eighty-five per cent of respondents with lower household income (below $25,000 annually) prioritise paid jobs over the summer above a paid internship, finding an unpaid internship a less valuable activity.

In our qualitative interviews with 18 different senior executives from large firms in Vietnam, 72 per cent of senior executives considered that most high school pupils are too young and lack the knowledge to contribute meaningful value to the firm, reasoning that it would be more beneficial to devote resources to training college students rather than high school students, as college students are more likely to obtain full-time employment at their organisation.

Discussion

In the United States, high school employment can play an important role in providing experience and income for students at the secondary level. In developing contexts such as Vietnam, however, the role of internships is notably different. In particular, students have few formal pathways to finding internships in Vietnam, and employers are also less likely to provide internship opportunities for students, potentially creating a vicious cycle of low participation by secondary students in internships.

Our analysis suggests that personal relationships are key in securing internships for high school students. According to our data, the large majority of Vietnamese households with an annual income of $25,000 or lower did not have relevant personal connections to help them get internships with an established firm.

Unlike in the US, Vietnam lacks established channels to find internship positions for high-schoolers, contributing to a low rate of students engaging in internships. In a survey conducted by internships.com, 50 per cent of the 326 US businesses surveyed openly offered high school internships⁵ and numerous other platforms like Chegg Internships or the Bank of America Student Leader Program. Without similar formal resources, students with lower household incomes in Vietnam are at a significant disadvantage in developing the necessary knowledge, skills, and future employment opportunities, regardless of whether or not the student is more qualified for the position than students with personal connections.

Vietnamese employers perpetuate the cultural stereotype that high school students cannot perform as well as college students, which affects the studentsʼ personal growth in the short term and may also have a long-term impact on the Vietnamese economy. On the other hand, firms in the United States feel that high school employment will lead to long-term employment, benefiting the company in the long run. A survey conducted on businesses in the US also claimed that 45 per cent believe that high school internships will “very likely” or “certainly” lead to full-time employment at their company.⁷ This demonstrates that the US has significantly greater trust in high school students and the future workforce.⁶

It is likely that Vietnam will need to be more receptive to high school employment, since it can teach students soft skills at a young age. Research reveals that no matter the sector, teenage workers may gain soft skills such as responsibility, organisation, time management, and creative problem-solving that will serve them well throughout high school, continuing education, and their career.⁸

In this study, we sought to understand the differences in perceptions of employment in high school students in Vietnam and the United States. Although our results have shown differences, they also raised many questions. Why should businesses hire high school students? What are the advantages of doing so? And how would this help the Vietnamese economy? As we explore these questions, we’ll get one step closer to helping to train a generation of talented, employable youth globally.

This article was first published on September 27, 2022.

About the Author

David Nguyen is a researcher based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. His research interests include youth employment, economic development, and firm strategy. He is currently working with Stephen Turban, a Harvard Ph.D. candidate, on a research project about youth employment in Vietnam.

References

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