Engaging industry partners in Laos

A consultation workshop with industry partners in Laos was conducted in November 2022. The workshop was aimed at identifying skills young people would need to increase their employment opportunities. Representatives from different industries, such as Beer Lao, recruitment companies, international NGO’s and community organizations were invited as potential employers for new graduates.

The industry partners were asked about some of the challenges, as well as opportunities, they see for young people entering the employment market. One finding from the conversation was that partners consider volunteering as work experience when hiring young staff. Another was that they value soft skills, such as time management, organisational skills and communication, more than technical skills when hiring employees early in their careers. Partners were also presented with the results of the consultation workshop done with Laos Australia National Scholarships (LANS) students at SU.

This consultation workshop is part of the Exploring Volunteering for Development workstream under the Expanding National Youth Volunteering project in Laos. This consultation workshop will be used to support further work on both of these projects.