Vietnam experienced a surge in economic growth in the 1990s, driven predominantly by productivity increases that came in the wake of a rapid shift of employment out of low productivity agriculture into higher productivity non-farm jobs. Education played a vital role in the country's rapid development, and its economy began to industrialize and modernize. However, Vietnam is facing new challenges. The pace of economic growth and the reallocation of jobs away from agriculture have slowed in the wake of structural problems in the enterprise and banking sectors and macroeconomic turmoil in recent years. Capital investments, and not productivity, have become the main source of economic growth. This is not a sustainable model for ensuring continued rapid economic growth. While the size of its workforce is still expanding, its youth population is shrinking. This means that Vietnam cannot continue to rely on the size of its workforce for continued success, and focus needs to be shifted to making its workforce more productive. This report addresses relevant issues such as the importance of a skilled workforce, with emphasis on cognitive, behavioral and technical skills, implementing a holistic skills strategy for the country through education and the importance of acquiring new skills in accordance with modern jobs.