The inaugural Career Forum provided 300 students who study French at the Lycée de Vientiane, the Lycée Français International de Vientiane and the National University of Laos, with the opportunity to interact with business managers and professionals in Laos, participate in professionalisation workshops, and visit company booths.
The event focused on two key areas: meetings with professionals and professionalisation and human resource workshops.
The keynote speakers included the French Ambassador Mme Siv-Leng Chhuor, ECCIL Eurocham’s Executive Director Ms Thiane Khamvongsa, Director General of Banque Franco Lao Mr Stéphane Urbain, Directeur General of NTPC Mr Marc-Antoine Rupp, and Executive Director of EXO Travel Laos and Board Member of LNCCI, Mrs Douangmala Phommavong.
Addressing the students, Ambassador Siv-Leng Chhuor insisted on the importance of the French language for the job market.
“Fluency in French will open many doors when looking for a job. I know some young people who were able to get a position they really wanted because they were speaking French, which set them apart from the other candidates. French is an international language, spoken by 320 million people across five continents. Speaking French can really make the difference,” the ambassador said.
In her opening speech, Eurocham’s Executive Director Ms Thiane Khamvongsa thanked all pupils, students, teachers, educators, partners, managers and company representatives who had been kind enough to come and share their time.
“Laos is full of dynamic and innovative French-speaking companies in many sectors of activity. This year, the Cooperation and Cultural Action Department of the French Embassy and the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Laos collaborated on a series of trainings on the theme of professionalisation and employability in universities in Paksé, Vientiane, Savannakhet and Luang Prabang, and on a series of interventions by professionals in bilingual classes in these cities,” she said.
“The objective of this first Career Forum is to inspire students, make them discover jobs they might have never heard of, discover trades and sectors of activity in need of French-speaking personnel in Laos, and highlight the employment needs of local businesses.”
The Career Forum aimed to provide students with the tools and resources needed to define their school and professional projects, learn about the various business and professional opportunities available to them, and gain valuable insights from experienced professionals.
Presentations by professionals were given throughout the day, namely for the banking sector by Banque Franco-Lao, for the renewable energy sector by the Nam Theun 2 Power Company, and for the scholarship programme “Study in France, making a career in Laos”.
Xlearn, an e-learning teaching project for digital marketing aimed at Lao youth was also introduced.
The Lao Consulting Group described the journey of one of their Lao civil engineers who went to France on a scholarship and on the available jobs in a consulting company in the development sector.
EXO Travel also gave a presentation about the tourism sector on the main stage and the company 108JOB concluded by inviting all students to attend a job fair taking place next month.
In the afternoon, two professionalisation and human resources workshops were held by ECCIL EuroCham to provide practical training in French on topics such as writing a CV and preparing for a job interview.
According to vientianetimes.org.la
