Only 15% of Vietnam Employers Rate AI Graduates Excellent

Only 15% of employers in Vietnam rate recent graduates as "excellent" across eight key AI-related competency areas, even though 96% of higher education leaders say their institutions are investing in AI. That gap sits at the core of the Pearson-AWS AI Readiness Report, launched in Hà Nội on Tuesday and based on a survey of 402 respondents in Vietnam: 301 students, 50 university leaders and faculty members, and 51 employers and business leaders. The research forms part of a six-market study covering Brazil, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the US and Vietnam.

The contrast is stark. More than 52% of surveyed students rated their readiness to work in an AI-enabled environment at 8–10 out of 10. Employers disagree. The eight assessment areas cover technical knowledge, adaptability, AI tool use, creativity, practical application of academic knowledge, continuous learning, communication and collaboration, and critical evaluation of AI outputs. Only 8% of employers rated graduates as "excellent" at critically evaluating what AI produces.

How fast is AI changing Vietnamese workplaces?

Faster than almost anywhere surveyed. Some 90% of Vietnamese university leaders said AI-driven workplace change is happening "extremely fast" or "very fast" — 23 percentage points above the global average of 67%. All surveyed academic leaders expect the pace to accelerate over the next two years.

Vietnam falls into the report's "High-Velocity Strategist" category: markets treating AI as a strategic priority and investing heavily. Yet investment has not translated into institutional agility. Only 28% of institutions surveyed are keeping up with all AI developments, according to Brett Blumenthal, Pearson's Regional Teacher Development Manager for Southeast Asia.

"The question is not whether AI deserves attention," Blumenthal said. The real questions are what learners should be able to do with AI, how they can practise those skills, and how meaningful work can be assessed.

What do employers actually criticize?

The employer complaints are specific, and they matter for anyone entering the job market this year:

• 43% cite poor AI habits, including over-reliance on AI outputs and weak verification and fact-checking
• 37% point to limited practical experience among recent graduate hires
• 35% flag over-reliance on AI tools

For an individual graduate, the market signal is clear: confidence with chatbots does not equal employability. Employers are screening for verification habits, fact-checking discipline and the ability to apply academic knowledge in real tasks. The report defines an AI-ready graduate through four connected capabilities — functional AI proficiency, critical human skills, ethical stewardship and strategic intelligence.

The problem is not uniquely Vietnamese. Globally, 53% of employers surveyed said they struggle to find recent graduates with AI skills that meet workplace requirements.

"Employers are increasingly looking for graduates who can combine technical knowledge with critical thinking, communication skills, adaptability, and the ability to apply what they've learned in real-world settings," said Joshua Ashworth, head of Trade and Investment at the British Embassy in Vietnam.

Can university-business cooperation close the gap?

Some 84% of higher education leaders in Vietnam said their institutions already engage regularly with employers to understand market needs. The report argues the next step is bringing employers directly into curriculum and assessment design.

Blumenthal suggested one concrete model: universities and businesses jointly developing authentic workplace tasks, such as requiring students to use AI to prepare a proposal, verify its claims, identify limitations and explain their recommendations.

The report sets out three priorities:

• Co-design learning outcomes and assessments with employers
• Create more opportunities for students to practise AI through realistic workplace tasks
• Strengthen faculty capacity to teach and assess applied AI use

The next challenge for Vietnam, the report concludes, is not expanding access to AI tools but ensuring students can use them responsibly and effectively to solve real-world problems — a standard that hiring managers will increasingly apply at interview.