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Tran Thi Lan AnhGeneral Director of the Bureau for Employer’s Activities and Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)
"Collaboration programmes between Australia and VCCI always bring practical values and effectively enhance VCCI's support for businesses”.
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Lan Anh holds the highest position among women at VCCI and has been active in trade and business facilitation, particularly in small and medium enterprise development since 1997. She also spent years managing technical cooperation projects of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to support the business community.
In 2008, Lan Anh earned a Master's degree in Development Practice with high distinction from the University of Queensland through an Australian government scholarship. At that time, there was no academic program on development in Vietnam. She decided to pursue this field of study because her work at VCCI often involved issues related to women, people with disabilities. Foreign language skills, as well as the knowledge and experience gained in Australia, provided Lan Anh with a solid foundation for career development at VCCI where she became responsible for international relations and later took the role of Secretary-General.
Returning to Vietnam with knowledge and skills acquired in Australia, Lan Anh generated initiatives for the business community to voice their opinions on the Labour Code revised in 2010. VCCI's innovative methods were acclaimed by various countries.
One of the notable programmes is Aus4Skills, which supports VCCI in connecting logistics businesses with vocational institutions to establish the Logistics Industry Skills Advisory Council (LIRC), a unique model in Vietnam. Led by businesses, this council helps provide forecasts on vocational skills needs and updates training programmes to improve the quality of human resources in the logistics industry.
"Indeed, Vietnam wants to connect the industry with training institutions, but engaging all stakeholders is a major challenge," Lan Anh said. "The Australian programme has motivated businesses.
Another collaboration project between the Australian Embassy and VCCI that Lan Anh gives high regard to is the Investing in Women programme, which empowers women in economic development, including activities delivered through VCCI to promote the engagement of women business owners in community activities. "Businesses are highly involved in charity and sponsorship, but encouraging them to engage in social activities, contributing with not only finances but also knowledge, skills, and networks, would be even more meaningful" - Lan Anh said.
Lan Anh believes that as countries with a strategic partnership in place and expectations to elevate the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership , Australia and Vietnam will undoubtedly see strong progress in economic cooperation. "VCCI plays a significant role in economic cooperation.. VCCI leaders who studied and worked in Australia will further promote and design programmes to complement Australia's strengths, such as technology, agriculture, education, human resources training and more, to support businesses."