Vu Minh Ngoc, a Coady International Institute participant from Vietnam, works to help others receive training that will lead to employment. (Richard MacKenzie photo)

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It may have been a quiet celebration, but it was a celebration nonetheless.
On Sept. 2, Coady International Institute participant Vu Minh Ngoc, the lone participant from Vietnam this year, celebrated her country’s Independence Day.
She did so by calling family in Vietnam and then continuing with her Friday schedule at the Coady.
“Today is a very special day in my country,” she beamed while relaxing in the Riley Lounge at the Coady.
“I’m very happy. I have an interview on a very special day in my country,” she said, her first reference in regards to her turn to be a Coady profile.
She also wanted to point out that while her name is written Vu Minh Ngoc, Ngoc is actually her first name. It’s normal in Vietnam, as well as other areas around the globe, to write the family name first and given names last.
In Vietnam, Vu works for the World University of Canada whose head offices are in Ottawa.
She said her role is to help people obtain the skills they need to fit with the labor market in her country. She said she is passionate about accessible skill training for everyone and education overall.
“Even those with university or college, they can’t find a job,” she said. “They have their training from the university but they lack a lot of the skills employers demand. My project and focus is to help them learn the skills required by employers.”
Vu said she can relate to those she is helping now because she was in their position not too long ago.
“When I graduated I had trouble finding a job,” she said. “My background is in economics, especially in the tourism sector. I had to work in a different job before finding (a job matching her training).”
She listed computer and language skills as examples of the tools job seekers sometimes lack and areas where she and her organization can step in to help.
“Education is the key aspect for people to get ahead in life,” Vu said. “That’s why I really like working in the education sector.”
In talking about how she came to the Coady, Vu noted the advice she received from former Coady instructor Jim Delaney who she befriended while he was working at the World University of Canada in Vietnam.
“I asked him about any place in Canada to continue my studies and he told me the Coady would be the best place,” she said. “So I asked how I could do it.”
Vu’s application was accepted and she is now in the diploma program looking to add to her leadership and communication skills so she can have a “greater impact” in her work.
“Continue to contribute to my organization, communicate with government and the private sector and find more sustainable and accessible community employment,” she said, listing some of the goals she hopes her Coady experience will help her achieve.
While she is well-travelled, this is her first time in Nova Scotia. She said she is enjoying her time and was confident, from her experiences, she would like the people.
“I’ve worked in different countries in the past and when I work with the Canadian non-government organization (NGO), I really like the people,” she said, pointing out quickly and with a chuckle she is not making the comment because she is currently in Canada.
She noted she is still getting used to the food, she is looking forward to seeing snow and, possible, meeting more of Delaney’s family whom, she understands, lives in the area.