Three ASEAN countries of Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos have embarked on a plan to develop a vocational-education programme that will prepare graduates for work in any of their territories.

These countries share the same problem, i.e. vocational training being unpopular among youths and the lack of adequate teaching staff and modern equipment.

The joint programme will allow student exchange among the three countries.

According to Nouphanh, the Laotian government has approved a bigger budget for vocational-education programmes. "Students in fields like woodwork, construction, the food industry and agriculture don't need to pay tuition fees. The government also offers them monthly salaries during their studies,"

Dr Dao Viet Dung, director of Vinh University of Technology Education in Vietnam's Vihn City, warmly welcomed the cooperation with Thailand too. He said the tri-nation vocational training scheme would set the same standards in the same professions across the three countries, making it convenient and easy for those in the field to move across borders. His university now teaches 11,000 students.