Each year, PNV’s selection team completes a rigorous, four-step process to select talented and motivated underprivileged youths from seven provinces in Central Vietnam: Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Kon Tum, Bình Định.

PN Vietnam collaborates with Study Promotion Associations (SPAs) from each province, who introduce us to local high schools and facilitate the process in accordance with local laws and customs. We conduct career orientation sessions for hundreds of underserved students to raise awareness about the importance of tertiary education in eradicating poverty and hunger. 

A special effort is made to include at least 50% young women in each class. Beyond that, priority is given to the poorest students irrespective of sex or gender identity.

To prepare these young people to become mature and independent adults, we designed a personal development curriculum that revolves around PN’s 5 main values.

PNV students are educated in the spirit of community and sustainable development through assignments like fundraising projects, environmentalism, and community preservation. Besides, as part of this program, students live together in dormitories, located near PNV, where they learn how to become autonomous and responsible adults. They are in charge of managing a budget with which they buy food, pay for the water and electricity bills, organize cleaning and cooking shifts, solve group issues and take care of each other.

At PNV, our specialized team is available to take care of students 24/7. Our students are closely monitored for both physical and mental wellbeings right after entering our center. Periodic assessments of individuals based on learning results, psychological development, and daily behaviors are performed on a monthly basis. We also provide psychological counseling in case of need.

PNV currently collaborates with Danang Vocational Training College (DanaVTC) on basic curriculum design and training delivery. At graduation, students receive an officially recognized college degree and a certificate diploma from Passerelles Numériques. These, coupled with the skills they’re trained, ensure they are able to obtain stable, qualified, and well-respected jobs, bringing them another step closer to ending the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families.

As 50% of the curriculum is for technical training, PN strongly supports learning by doing, which is why all of our IT courses include at least 50% lab practice time. In addition, in order to shorten the gap between the curriculum and the employer’s expectations, PNV always integrates IT companies into our training activities in many forms such as workshops, 6 weeks of specialization modules, mentoring programs, and internship programs.

Professional skills are lifelong learning that will occupy 25% of our training time to help students be able to work effectively in companies. Our professional life training consists of 4 main parts:

• Learning to Learn: The students discover themselves and their learning styles to find the most suitable learning techniques for the best training progress and their own development
• Job Application: The students prepare themselves for the recruitment reality to improve their chances of employability
• Professionalism: The students practice positive attitudes to enhance their influence and adaptability in their working environment
• Thinking & Mindset: The students attend workshops and special modules to boost their confidence and analytical thinking skills, as well as their ambition and vision for future developments

English occupies a central place in our training approach, as much as 25% of the training is dedicated to it. With a target on TOEIC 500+, PNV is aiming for students to be able to listen and read with ease. An intense focus is made on communicative English with classes focusing on pronunciation and speaking throughout the whole curriculum, plus a compulsory English Club in the second academic year where students have to communicate with English-speaking volunteers every week.

At PNV, English is considered an essential tool: We train students to have adequate English IT vocabulary, the ability to present and write in English, and the confidence to use it in front of any foreigner.