In January 2013, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued a decision entitled Regulation on Overseas Study of Vietnamese Citizens. The third chapter of the decision was of special interest to educational consulting companies.titled e“Management of Overseas Study Services” , this section stated that education agents would subsequently need to meet certain requirements in order to obtain certification. These requirements include the following:

• “The head of the organization of overseas study consultation services and the staff directly giving advice on overseas study must have a university degree or higher, be fluent in at least one foreign language and  possess the certificate of oversea (s) study consultation profession training granted by the Ministry of Education and Training” (MoET);"

• The agent  must demonstrate sufficient financial capacity “to ensure the settlement of cases of risk:”having a minimum deposit of VND 500 million (about US$22,400) per office in a commercial bank.

Local Departments of Education and Training (DoETs) are responsible for organizing the necessary training as mentioned above and overseeing the certification process, including a final exam that advisers must pass in order to receive their certification. The purpose of these regulations is to raise the standards of practice by regulating educational consulting companies at some level.

On July 1 2016, these certification requirements were abruptly discontinued, meaning that even more companies could additionally enter already extremely competitive market in Vietnam. Basically going back in time to 2012, the market continues to expand and mature. Through its National Assembly (Vietnam’s legislative body), the government thereby intends to limit bureaucracy and open up the market, giving students and parents more choices when it comes to select an education agent.

For example, eliminating the financial requirement is one less burden for existing companies and one less obstacle for new entrants. This new policy, or rather a return to the state of affairs of four years ago, is a sign of flexibility, a characteristic that the Vietnamese government values and has exhibited time and time and again in education and in many other fields.The role of the parent include doing extensive homework. Without external stamps of approval it is now up to them to decide which company will provide the highest-quality service for a most precious commodity, which is their children’s overseas study experience. They must do so based on their knowledge, comparison shopping, and thier own intuition. In respect to of international educators, the main change will be that they should expect to receive more solicitations from new education agents in Vietnam. This is of course a double-edged sword meaning more choices for students and parents but also potentially more work involved in screening new agent contacts.

There is plenty of help along the way, including professional associations such as NAFSA: Association of International Educators and, in particular, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, which approved a change to its ethical standards permitting the use of commissioned agents in the recruitment of international students in September 2013.The promising trend of rising consumer expectations in Vietnam is truer than ever. There are more parents and students who are now “educated consumers,” and who ask more and better questions based on access to higher-quality information both online and from their network of family and friends studying overseas. At the same time, education agents that value integrity and long-term success over short-term profit should embrace the notion that doing business ethically makes for better business. All in all, this is good news for all who work as members of a recruitment and student services team in facilitating individual investments in education that ultimately result in a public good.

The graduation season is upon us and the continuing of students’ education is an important issue faced not only by students. Parents will have already pro-actively put in place plans for the next stage of their child’s education. According to Mastercard’s latest “Survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Education”, Taiwanese parents place great emphasis on the education of the next generation and understand the importance of advance financial planning for their children’s future education. More than 82% of Taiwanese parents establish an education trust fund for their children, the highest number in the Greater China region and higher also than neighboring South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, in order to provide children with the best educational environment half of all parents plan to arrange for their children to study overseas, with the US being the first choice.  

 Head of Mastercard Taiwan Eva Chen says: “According to the 2015 IMD World Talent Report, among the 61 countries surveyed, Taiwan’s talent competitiveness ranked 23rd, higher than Japan (26th), South Korea (31st) and China (40th). Evidently talent development has become the foundation for boosting competitiveness. In addition, the fact that the percentage of Taiwanese parents establishing education trust funds and spending on children’s education is at the forefront in the Asia-Pacific region shows that Taiwanese parents place a great amount of emphasis on the education of the next generation for the creating of a better future.”    

Taiwanese parents place great importance on the education of the next generation, and by ratio plan the most extensively for their children’s higher education fund out of the Greater China Region.Taiwanese parents wish to avoid their children losing out before the race has even begun and so invest heavily in their children’s futures, arranging for them to study a number of extra skills and talents. However, in order to sufficiently prepare for the next generation’s education, only fixed investment in, and prudent application of, an education fund will do. In Taiwan more than 82% of parents establish an education trust fund for their children, a figure that places the country first in Greater China and that is higher than neighboring South Korea (75%) and Japan (61%). This indicates that there is a general tendency for Taiwanese parents to plan ahead with regards to their children’s education.  In addition Taiwanese parents spend on average 17% of monthly household income on their children’s education, second highest in the Asia Pacific region, showing that even in the face of recent economic recession, Taiwanese parents are still fully committed to investing in the next generation.    

 Also, parents are not just committed to planning of education trust funds, they are also heavily involved in the planning of their children’s extracurricular time. Survey results show that nearly 60% of parents in the Asia-Pacific region arrange for their children to attend extracurricular activities. In Taiwan this figure is as high as 70%. The three most popular extracurricular activities are after-school tutoring (35%), foreign language classes (33%), and sports activities (31%). This shows that extracurricular activities attended by Taiwanese children are oriented towards enhancing classroom knowledge and languages so as to boost competitiveness.    

 50% of parents plan to send children overseas to study, America is the No. 1 destination.Education reforms in Taiwan in recent years have led to a glut of university admissions, in turn causing a university diploma bubble. Due to this Taiwanese parents have less and less faith in Taiwan’s education system and the next generation are apprehensive about their future. According to survey results 49% of parents feel that overseas educational systems are superior to Taiwan’s and 21% plan to send their children off-shore to receive their college education. America is the number choice of destinations for both Asia-Pacific and Taiwanese parents for their children’s education.

 Although studying abroad is the ideal educational blueprint that a large number of Taiwanese parents follow for the education plans of their children, 54% still plan for their children to attend local universities due to economic considerations. In addition, tuition fees for overseas study are continuing to rise and overseas study is no longer the only way to gain overseas experience. More and more students are taking part in student exchange programs, or working holiday and volunteer services abroad opportunities in order to develop a global outlook. This has led to a decrease of 21% year on year in the number of parents planning to send their children abroad to study. 

Active participation in further education, emphasis on self-development of competitivity in professional fields.In addition to cultivating the next generation, the Taiwanese public also places great emphasis on investment in personal professional skills so as to maintain a competitive edge in the workplace. Survey results show that in the next year 41% of Taiwanese will attend continuing education courses, considerably higher than the average for Asia-Pacific of 28%, placing the country third in the region. It is also a 4% increase from last year’s figure. The main objectives of those pursuing further education is to increase professional knowledge and to cultivate interests. In addition survey results show that Taiwanese investment in development of personal interests ranks second in the region, showing that Taiwanese are paying more and more attention to their daily lives and increasingly understand the importance of using personal time to develop their own interests.    

Mastercard’s “Survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Education” was conducted during November and December of 2015. The Asia-Pacific regional report addressed 17 markets with 8,779 consumers in possession of bank accounts between the age of 18-64. Overall trends with regards to education consumption habits and values were evaluated. The 17 countries taking part in the “Survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Education” were Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand. The survey itself does not reflect on the financial performance of Mastercard.

Southeast Asia's 11 countries have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $1.9 trillion; a population of almost 600 million people; and an average per-capita income nearly equal to China's, according to Southeast Asia: Crouching Tiger or Hidden Dragon?, an article published by the International Economic Bulletin.

While Southeast Asia has experienced significant economic growth over the past 10 years, it is a region at a crossroads. Its continued growth relies on deeper regional cooperation and integration from a policy perspective, and market-driven intervention by businesses that aspire to expand their footprint across the national borders, according to Destination Southeast Asia: A Joint Pathway to Future Growth?, a 2011 report from consulting firm Accenture.

"Early indicators are promising stable real GDP growth; substantial (and growing) consumer markets; strong labor forces; and steady economic and market transitions across its economies," notes the report. "By taking the right path now, the region will be well on its way to becoming a formidable economic powerhouse by 2020."

Here's a closer look at five of the Southeast Asian countries that will lead the way.

Thailand's top export to the United States is computer accessories, followed by telecommunications equipment and fish. Nearly all exports from Thailand depart from the Port of Laem Chabang, and arrive at the Port of Los Angeles. U.S. imports from Thailand were up three percent year-to-date in 2012, compared to 2011.

Thailand has a GDP worth U.S. $602 billion, classifying the country as the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Despite this ranking, Thailand falls midway in the wealth spread in Southeast Asia, as it is the fourth-richest nation based on GDP per capita—after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia.

Vietnam may be the fastest growing of Southeast Asia's emerging economies by 2025, with a potential annual growth rate of about 10 percent in real dollar terms, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers. That would increase the economy's size to 70 percent of the United Kingdom's by 2050.

Apparel, textiles, and furniture are the top products imported from Vietnam to the United States. "Year-to-date, U.S. imports from Vietnam are up 15 percent compared to 2011, making the country one of the fastest growing suppliers to the United States," notes Rasmussen.

The majority of goods depart from the Port of Vung Tau, and arrive at the Port of Los Angeles. Ocean carriers Maersk Line, Mitsui, and Hanjin have large market shares of import transportation.  Read More

l   Overall, the number of Taiwanese students studying abroad grew 2.1%

l   US continues to be the most popular destination with 21,266 students (the data combines both F-1 & J-1 holders).

l   Canada, Australia and Japan experienced strong YoY growth, with 32.2%, 24.6% and 14.7% growth respectively.

Analysis:

l   Taiwan is still a very strong market for study abroad if you measure it on a per capita basis. However, what the data is showing us is that Taiwanese today are considering a broader range of options than just US, UK & Australia.

l   We feel that the increase in student enrollment to Canada, Australia and Japan is the direct result of the working holiday program between these countries and Taiwan. The data shows a “spillover” effect from the working holiday scheme. Students tend to go over to these countries through the Working Holiday scheme, then they decide that they would like to stay there a bit longer and some of them stay on to pursue more education and eventually, the students may eventually choose to immigrate there.

l   The implication of these trends is that it is becoming more challenging for schools to recruit these students as many of these students are bypassing agents entirely.

Source: Ministry of Education, Analysis & Translation provided by EnvisionRecruit

The spotlight is southbound as foreign investors slowly shift their attentions to developing Southeast Asian countries, such as Cambodia. The many challenges and sociopolitical issues that the country used to face has begun to dwindle as the growth rate continues on a steady rise and foreign entities begin to sprout on local soil. “During the past 10 years, Cambodia’s economy has had an average real growth rate of 7.9 per cent and is expected to grow by an average of 6.7 – 7.4 per cent over the next three years as regional trade and investment expands after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is formed at the end of 2015,” said Bangkok Bank President Chartsiri Sophonpanich, in response to a new branch that just opened in Phnom Penh.

“Cambodia also has other attractive features, such as special trading privileges, an abundance of natural resources that are vital to the economy, and low wages. Moreover, the government has a policy of encouraging foreign investment, with no limits on shareholding or capital controls, no restrictions on fund transfers out of the country, reduced income taxes, import and export tax exemptions, supporting international investment in transportation development, as well as revising laws and regulations to keep them up-to-date. These factors will attract more businesses to invest in Cambodia and present ideal opportunities for Bangkok Bank to facilitate and meet the needs of customers doing business in the country,” Chartsiri said.

Low global oil prices will also prove beneficial to developing countries, such as Cambodia.  “Lower oil prices will boost domestic demand in most countries in the region and provide policy makers a unique opportunity to push fiscal reforms that will raise revenues and reorient public spending toward infrastructure and other productive uses. These reforms can improve East Asia’s competitiveness and help the region retain its status as the world’s economic growth engine,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice President.

As the tide changes, young entrepreneurs are also fanning the startup culture with the perks of affordable living and the gradual rise in the tech community.  Many of these startups are socially driven and are targeted to make a difference due to a plethora of non-profit organizations that have been set up in the past decades. These investments that spark international attention has also contributed to a significant decrease in the commercial sex trade in Cambodia. The kind of progress that the country is experiencing really sets an example for developing nations around the world.

An improving economy and a safer environment foretells the rise in education, where local scholarship programs are being created to help children from families below the poverty line to remain in school. Michelle Obama’s new program to promote education for girls in developing countries also included a trip to Cambodia recently.