Vietnamese students reap little net benefit from skills acquired at Western universities because an economic ¡°mismatch¡± hinders them from using their newfound abilities to enrich themselves or meet national needs, according to a new book.

Research by Sydney educational sociologist Lien Pham suggests that although overseas-acquired qualifications boost earnings in Vietnam, the payoff does not cover the investment. And the country is also short-changed, for cultural and structural reasons.

Dr Pham said most returning graduates sought prestigious jobs in multinational corporations, which tended to value overseas-trained people¡¯s English fluency and problem-solving abilities. In the more hierarchical culture of Vietnamese-owned companies, employees who volunteered ideas were ¡°not appreciated¡±.

But Vietnamese branches of multinationals tended to specialise in manufacturing and distribution, not research and development, and had little need for technical skills. Consequently, overseas-trained graduates gravitated to managerial positions where they could use ¡°soft¡± skills such as communication, but their engineering and scientific expertise was redundant.

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The research, based on extensive surveys and interviews, has been summarised in Dr Pham¡¯s book, . Most interviewees felt that they were making little contribution to meeting Vietnam¡¯s needs in areas such as health, poverty, human rights and public administration.

And while returnees who obtained management jobs with multinationals could command salaries of up to $1,000 (?790) a month ¨C compared with typical Vietnamese earnings of about half as much ¨C the extra pay was a paltry return on master¡¯s degrees that could cost $150,000 in tuition fees alone.

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Dr Pham, who lectures in the Graduate Research School at the University of Technology Sydney, acknowledged that her findings were controversial. ¡°Most universities offering international education put it out there that [students will] find better jobs and higher income when they finish. But there¡¯s some question about that.¡±

Foreign study was nevertheless an attractive proposition, she said, partly because of the migration possibilities and partly because of ¡°post-colonial¡± reasons. ¡°The symbolic image of quality education is that it lies in the West. The university system in Vietnam cannot compete with that,¡± she explained.

Postgraduates fared reasonably well when they returned home, Dr Pham said. Many had attracted government scholarships and already had the personal networks needed to find employment in a country such as Vietnam. But most students were undergraduates supported by their parents,?and they had never worked in Vietnam and had ¡°no point of leverage¡± to get jobs.

She said universities could best help by arranging internships in Vietnam, rather than the host country, and with Vietnamese-owned firms rather than multinationals. This would enable students to make connections and harness their technical skills. Most importantly it would expose them to Vietnamese work culture ¡°so they¡¯re not so shocked when they come back and get a job¡±.

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Although organising offshore work experiences might sound a tough task for a university, some Sydney institutions already offered this service, Dr Pham said. ¡°It requires a curriculum change and good links, but it can be done,¡± she said.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com