Ho Chi Minh City Vinatex Economic-Technical College, formerly Thu Duc School for Garment Technical Workers, was established in October 1978 with the task of training human resources for the South’s garment sector. During the first years of establishment, the college faced tremendous difficulties in building facilities and seeking cadres and lecturers. They had to hire the locals’ houses and invite skilled and highly professional workers in garment factories to work for the college. Despite difficulties, the college completed its first training course with 30 students who were taught to repair industrial garment machines. Since then, the college has continually developed and in 1998 it had modern training facilities in an area of 10,000m2 with a staff of highly professional cadres and lecturers. It also opened more training branches, partly meeting the demand for the development of the garment sector at that time. The school was then changed into the Secondary School of Garment Technique and Fashion II. In 2009, it officially changed to Ho Chi Minh City Vinatex Economic-Technical College.

Ho Ngoc Tien, Rector of the college, said the college has strength in training branches of the garment and fashion sectors, providing human resources for fashion companies. The college always creates favourable conditions for students to study, such as building student’s hostels, a library and sports areas.

At present, the college is capable of training over 8,000 students in long-term training at distinct levels of primary, intermediate and diploma (college level) with 14 professional branches and 3,000 people of short-term training. To meet the increasing demand for technical cadres and textile and garment managers and to prepare human resources when Vietnam joins the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), the college opened the first training course on fibre and textile technology for 59 students in October 2013 which received high praise from textile and garment enterprises. The college also conducts research and experiments in technological sciences to serve the work of education and service of the textile and garment sector. It also organises short training courses for thousands of cadres and mangers of textile and garment enterprises in the South.

At the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the college (October 14, 1978-Ocober 14, 2013), Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) emphasised that Vinatex would establish a complete dyeing branch to ensure the human resources for the textile and garment sector that balances and improves the supply chain of yarn, weaving, completed dyeing and sewing. At present, the college has strategic measures to cooperate with enterprises in a long term to create favourable conditions for students to practice on modern machines. Furthermore, it also closely coordinates with enterprises to invite excellent students who have 4-5 years experience working in factories to return to lecture in the college.

 

For the past 36 years, the college trained 30,000 highly skilled workers, meeting the textile and garment sector’s demand for its workforce. The college has become a reliable training address of Vinatex.