Attending the meeting, on the VNBA side were representatives from several departments and units of the VNBA Standing Office. The delegation from the British Embassy included Ms. Jane Rexworthy, OBE - Chair of UK Skills Partnership; Mr. Matt Bungay - Head of Vocational Training Programs at City St George's, University of London; and representatives in charge of education and training from the British Embassy in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA)
Sharing at the meeting, Ms. Jane Rexworthy, OBE - Chair of UK Skills Partnership, stated that the UK wishes to collaborate with Vietnam in implementing a program to award micro-credentials in green finance, targeting the workforce in the banking and finance sector.
According to Ms. Jane Rexworthy, these certifications should be designed with a practical, competency-based approach, enabling learners to apply their knowledge immediately in their work, rather than simply providing theoretical knowledge. The planned focus areas include: green credit, green bonds; ESG governance and oversight, ESG reporting according to international standards; project quality assurance and criteria for granting green credit.
Ms. Jane Rexworthy, OBE - Chair of UK Skills Partnership
Notably, the program is not aimed at recent graduates but focuses on existing bank staff, especially those directly involved in project appraisal, credit granting, and consulting but lacking in-depth skills in green finance.
According to the proposal, each certificate will have a training duration of approximately 30-40 hours, implemented using a blended learning model, including in-person, online, and guided self-study, suitable for full-time bank employees.
Representatives from the UK Skills Partnership stated that prior to the visit, the delegation reviewed Vietnam's policies and legal framework related to green classification, ESG, carbon credit markets, and sustainable finance; they also conducted a survey of training needs in the Vietnamese banking sector.
The UK Skills Partnership emphasized its interest in the training priorities that have the greatest impact on VNBA and its member banks, in order to determine a suitable starting point for the program. This program is defined as a long-term collaboration, in which certificates will be jointly certified by the UK training partner and reputable organizations in Vietnam such as VNBA or specialized training institutions, accompanied by a rigorous evaluation and quality assurance mechanism.
In the near future, UK Skills Partnership plans to collaborate with VNBA to organize a series of online and in-person workshops to co-design the program content, ensuring it aligns with international best practices while also being suitable for the Vietnamese and Asian banking market context.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung stated that ESG, ESG data, and green finance are major concerns for the Vietnamese banking system, especially in the context of implementing the Party and State's major policies on green transformation, digital transformation, and sustainable development.
According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, ESG is not only an international requirement but also closely linked to risk management, growth model transformation, and improving credit quality. However, the gap in ESG knowledge and skills among banking staff remains quite large, particularly the disparity between large and small-scale banks.
VNBA hopes to access international methods for collecting, managing, and exploiting ESG data, thereby supporting banking staff in evaluating and scoring ESG in a substantive, consistent, and appropriate manner for Vietnam's conditions. Initially, the most suitable target group for certification is bank officers directly involved in credit assessment and approval, before expanding to other groups through the VNBA Training Center.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Director of the VNBA Training Center
Further discussing this proposal, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Director of the VNBA Training Center, stated that green finance and sustainable development are currently one of VNBA's core training pillars. Based on practical needs, VNBA proposes developing an ESG and green finance certification program at two levels: a "basic level" for professional staff directly implementing projects and an "advanced level" for middle-level managers and leaders at banks.
The training programs are expected to be long-term, systematic, combining online and in-person training, linking theory with case studies and practical implementation in Vietnam. Certificates could be issued electronically and jointly validated by VNBA and international training partners, increasing their value and recognition within the Vietnamese banking system.
VNBA also expressed its desire to receive support from the delegation not only in training, but also in policy advice, contributing to the synchronized and effective implementation of green transformation within its member network, and making a positive contribution to the sustainable development of the Vietnamese banking industry.
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