On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted Law on Vocational Education No. 124/2025/QH15, which took effect on January 1, 2026, replacing Law on Vocational Education No. 74/2014/QH13 of 2014. The new law broadens the categories of institutions eligible to deliver vocational training, introduces vocational upper secondary schools, and shifts governance structures for private institutions from ownership-representative boards of management to stakeholder-based school councils. These reforms aim to diversify training providers, align programs with labor market needs, and create a more flexible, open vocational education ecosystem, offering expanded opportunities for foreign and domestic investors, universities, and enterprises.

Some highlights of the new Law on Vocational Education are presented below.

Expansion of Vocational Training Levels and Programs

In addition to elementary, intermediate, and college—the three levels of vocational training program set out under the 2014 Law on Vocational Education—the new law expands the structure by introducing two new levels:

• Vocational high school training programs are placed between elementary and intermediate levels, and are aimed at combining upper secondary education with vocational training, expanding options for learners after graduating from the lower secondary level.
• Other vocational training programs are not specified in detail under the new law, but aim to equip learners with the capability to perform and handle one or several simple tasks of an occupation.

Expansion of Vocational Education Providers

The new law reclassifies and extends vocational education providers by classifying them into two distinct categories:

• Vocational education institutions, which include colleges, intermediate schools, and vocational high schools.
• Establishments participating in vocational education activities, which include vocational education centers, vocational-continuing education centers, continuing education centers, other centers with vocational education functions, enterprises, cooperatives, and higher education institutions.

Vocational education providers may provide one vocational training level only, or several/all levels, depending on the type of provider.

The new law notably allows higher education institutions to leverage their existing facilities and resources to participate more actively in vocational education. In particular, higher education institutions in the fields of arts, sports, teacher education, and strategic technology may offer several levels of vocational training programs in the same fields.

New Governance Structure for Private Institutions

The new law replaces the board of management (board of directors) previously required in private vocational education institutions with a “school council” functioning as a stakeholder-representative governance body. The school council will operate through collective decision‑making by majority vote and includes a broader and more inclusive membership, but does not include state authority stakeholders as the former board of management did. Specifically, the school council comprises representatives of investors, institutional leadership, lecturers and teachers, learners, educational experts and scientists, educational managers, and related enterprises. This inclusive governance structure aims to balance stakeholder interests and enhance transparency.

Existing boards of management recognized before January 1, 2026, may continue to operate until investors elect or appoint the new school council, but the transition must be completed by January 1, 2027.

Introduction of Training Locations

The new law introduces “training locations” for vocational education institutions for the first time, which include (i) headquarters, (ii) branch campuses, and (iii) the newly recognized “other training locations,” which, unlike headquarters and branch campuses, do not perform governance and management functions. Instead, they are defined as places where all or part of a training program is delivered, under the management of the vocational education institution, and in compliance with prescribed quality‑assurance conditions. These include premises owned by or lawfully used by the institution, venues for joint training programs, and sites for practical training.

This change marks a significant shift, providing a more comprehensive and accurate reflection of where a vocational education institution may conduct training, and facilitates the more efficient utilization of available societal resources for educational activities that can be shared or jointly utilized—such as sports fields or practical training sites—while enabling institutions to deliver training programs in a more flexible and effective manner.

Investment and Cooperation Opportunities

The new law encourages synergy and collaboration between vocational education institutions and relevant stakeholders, including other educational institutions, state agencies, research institutes, enterprises, socio-professional organizations, and partners within Vietnam as well as worldwide, to strengthen cooperation and training collaboration in the vocational education system.

Cooperation models include training, applied research, transfer of technology, innovation, practical training, and internships, as well as the development of training programs and learning models. Training collaboration includes implementation of training programs and establishment of faculties, centers, or specialized training units.

Increase of Reinvestment Ratio in Private Institutions

All private vocational education institutions must retain at least 25 percent of any annual profit from education, training, research, and technology transfer for reinvestment in the development of the institution and social responsibility. This change is expected to affect the business strategies of private vocational education institutions.

Outlook

The changes under the new law are expected to accelerate the diversification and modernization of Vietnam’s vocational training system as well as attract broader investment in this sector. At the same time, the new law also expects greater responsibility and contributions from private vocational education institutions in serving the public interest by increasing the required reinvestment ratio.

As more detailed regulations and guidelines are expected to be issued by the government in the near future, investors and stakeholders in the vocational education sector should closely monitor these developments to ensure compliance and to seize emerging investment and business opportunities.

This article was prepared with the assistance of Tilleke & Gibbins intern Nhu Quynh Ngo.