Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien
President of the Academy of Public Administration and Governance (APAG)
On March 25, 2025, in Ha Noi, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) organized a national conference on the training of public officials. The event was held in a hybrid format, combining both in-person and online participation. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, APAG President, delivered a presentation at the conference. His presentation is respectfully introduced below.
An overview of the conference.
1. Results of training for public officials at the Academy of Public Administration and Governance (APAG) (2021–2024)
On November 24, 2024, Conclusion No. 09-KL/BCĐ of the Central Steering Committee on summarizing the implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW determined the restructuring plan for the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) by merging it into the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA). According to Decision No. 214-QĐ/TW dated December 28, 2024, issued by the Politburo on the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of HCMA, NAPA was officially renamed the Academy of Public Administration and Governance (APAG).
Before its merger with HCMA, NAPA was designated as a special public non-business unit by Decision No. 27/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister on December 19, 2022. It served as the national center performing the functions of training and upgrading competencies, knowledge and skills in administration, leadership and management for public officials; human resource training; research on administrative sciences; giving advice and consultancy to the Ministry of Home Affairs on public administration and state management. During this period, NAPA achieved significant results in training programs for public officials. Specifically:
The statistics demonstrate that the number of public officials trained over three years was substantial, thus enhancing professional standards and improving the quality of the public sector workforce.
While these achievements are notable—such as improvements in curriculum development, teaching materials, faculty qualifications, and training quality—there remain certain limitations and challenges:
- Overemphasis on theoretical content, with insufficient focus on practical skills and real-life scenarios;
- Overlap in training programs, particularly between state management courses and intermediate or advanced political training programs;
- Gaps in faculty qualifications, with some lecturers not fully meeting training requirements;
- Lack of participation from top experts and experienced managers in training activities;
- Decentralization of training programs not fully aligned with the actual capabilities of implementing institutions;
- Limited awareness among some officials, who prioritize obtaining degrees and certificates rather than genuinely improving their competencies;
- Insufficient assessment of training outcomes, particularly in relation to on-the-job performance after completing courses.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, APAG President, delivered a presentation at the conference.
2. Current requirements for public officials and the training process
In the current context, Viet Nam is undertaking a rigorous reform of its administrative apparatus, aiming for a streamlined, efficient, effective, and high-performing system. At the same time, rapid advancements in science and technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), pose new challenges and demand enhanced competencies from public officials. As a result, fundamental innovations in training for the public sector workforce are essential.
With a leaner administrative structure, each public official is required to handle tasks more quickly, efficiently, and productively. This increases individual responsibility and demands higher competency and professionalism. The public sector workforce must shift from a traditional administrative mindset to a modern public governance approach, focusing on specific results and outcomes. Additionally, public officials must rapidly adapt to digital technologies and integrate AI applications into their work. Without continuous training and timely skill updates, there is a real risk of obsolescence for many public employees. This underscores the urgent need for comprehensive and bold innovation in training programs to meet the demands of modern and effective national governance.
3. Recommendations for innovating the training process for public officials
First, awareness.
In the context of rapid changes and the advancement of science and technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), having a clear and comprehensive understanding of the role and significance of training for public officials is crucial. This awareness directly impacts the quality of the workforce and the effectiveness of national and local governance. Enhancing awareness of the importance of training is a prerequisite for the success of these initiatives. A strong focus on awareness will help build a high-quality, dynamic, and innovative workforce capable of quickly adapting to change and meeting the demands of effective national and local governance in the modern era. Key aspects include recognizing the strategic importance of training for public officials; understanding that training is a continuous and long-term responsibility, not a one-time or formalistic task; clearly defining the objectives, content, and methods of training in alignment with new governance demands; acknowledging the responsibility of training institutions to ensure that all programs contribute to improving the competency of the workforce; encouraging public officials to recognize the practical value of training programs, fostering active and serious participation.
A proper understanding of training will help cultivate a workforce that is not only highly skilled but also equipped with strong governance capabilities, ensuring the ability to address complex challenges effectively in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.
Second, unified management of training for public officials.
Following the merger of NAPA into HCMA, the unification of management in training for public officials has become both necessary and feasible. This is a crucial factor in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of training programs. A unified approach will ensure consistency and standardization of training content and programs nationwide; elimination of fragmentation, duplication, and resource waste; stronger integration between political theory education and state management training, developing a workforce that is both competent in governance and deeply rooted in political ideology.
Key aspects of unified training management include:
(1) Standardizing Training Programs and Content
Establishing a nationwide standardized training framework for different levels of public officials, including junior, principal, and senior officials, as well as ministerial department, provincial department, division, and commune-level managers.
Ensuring a balanced integration of political theory, administrative skills, and modern governance methods, with an emphasis on practical, hands-on training.
Unified management should apply to training programs that define competency standards for public officials. For specific training needs based on job requirements and real-world challenges, organizations employing public officials should be empowered to identify their own training needs. They may also request specialized training programs from qualified institutions. In such cases, training content should remain flexible and demand-driven, rather than subject to rigid national standardization.
(2) Standardizing lecturer and expert qualifications.
Establishing clear and unified standards for lecturers, prioritizing those with in-depth expertise, professional teaching methodologies, and practical experience. Encouraging experienced leaders and managers to participate as guest lecturers to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Developing a nationwide recruitment, evaluation, and management mechanism to ensure a consistent and high-quality faculty.
(3) Standardizing training quality assessment and evaluation.
Implementing a unified set of criteria for assessing training quality and post-training effectiveness.
Conducting regular inspections and monitoring of training institutions nationwide to maintain quality control and ensure standardized curricula and teaching methods.
(4) Standardizing certification and accreditation.
Establishing consistent regulations for issuing certificates for public officials.
While unified management ensures standardization, an appropriate level of decentralization is also necessary to enhance autonomy, flexibility, and innovation in training management; ensure alignment between training programs and practical needs across ministries, agencies, organizations, and local governments; develop clear regulatory frameworks to guide decentralized management while maintaining accountability; implement periodic evaluations to refine and improve the decentralization process.
A harmonized approach that balances centralized management and decentralized implementation will maximize the effectiveness of training programs, ultimately contributing to a modern, efficient, and professional national governance system.
Third, a comprehensive review of training and political theory programs.
All training programs for public officials —including those for officials, principal officials, senior officials, division, ministerial department, provincial department leaders, and other training courses, as well as intermediate and advanced political theory programs—must undergo a comprehensive review. This ensures that overlapping content is eliminated, preventing unnecessary time, effort, and financial waste, while allowing public officials to focus on their actual work. This review will also identify critical new topics that need to be integrated into training programs, such as national vision and aspirations in the modern era; modern and efficient national governance in the new era; strategic thinking and strategic management; local governance and sustainable development; building a professional and modern leadership image; digital transformation in state governance; AI applications in state governance; data management and data-driven decision-making. These additions will help build a high-quality workforce capable of meeting the demands of modern national governance.
Key principles for the review process:
(1) Clear training objectives and functions: clearly defining the purpose of each program; political theory training should focus on ideological awareness, political education, and methodology; public administration training should emphasize modern governance skills and executive management competencies.
(2) Streamlining for efficiency and practicality: training content must be targeted, efficient, and outcome-driven; avoiding generalized or redundant theoretical content and focusing on developing modern management thinking and practical skills.
(3) Alignment with real-world needs: Program content must be designed based on the actual job responsibilities of public officials; avoiding unnecessary duplication with political theory programs, ensuring that training remains relevant and applicable.
Fourth, clear identification of training target groups.
Clearly identifying the target groups for training programs is a key factor in ensuring their effectiveness and success. Proper classification helps build a competent, ethical, and skilled workforce that can meet the increasingly complex demands of national and local governance.
Clearly defining the target groups will ensure training programs are well-focused and aligned with specific needs; tailor content and methods appropriately (e.g., high-level leaders require strategic planning and governance training, while grassroots and mid-level officials need practical problem-solving and implementation skills); optimize resources and training time to maximize efficiency; enhance the practical quality and effectiveness of training programs; increase accountability and motivation among participants; guide long-term workforce planning and development.
Fifth, innovation in the training institution.
To overcome existing limitations in the training institutions, institutional innovations should focus on unifying the management of training programs while allowing for reasonable decentralization; more clearly defining target groups to ensure appropriate and effective training; enhancing job-specific and leadership training, aligning programs with the requirements of specific positions and roles; regulating the development and management of curricula and materials; setting lecturer standards; ensuring quality assurance for training institutions; institutionalizing competency-based training as the primary focus, rather than over-emphasizing degrees and certificates; increasing practical training components, ensuring direct application to real-world problem-solving; mandating the participation of senior leaders and managers in training programs to share practical experience; implementing a post-training evaluation mechanism, assessing public officials based on their actual job performance rather than theoretical knowledge.
