'Children's Voices' Short Film: A Vietnam Factory Giving Youth a Second Chance at Education

Meet Tran Thanh Nam, a former bartender and current employee at Cuong Phat Pottery Company in Binh Duong, Vietnam. At the tender age of 15, Nam decided to drop out of school and find a job. When Nam left school, finding a decent age-appropriate job was difficult, leaving him with no option but to take high-risk jobs like bartending until late at night. “I had to work long hours each day in my previous job and the pay wasn't good. It was unfair to make someone work such long hours for such little pay,” he recollects.

Since early 2018, Nam, now 17, has been working at Cuong Phat Pottery Company. The factory is taking part in a youth development programme which creates opportunities for out-of-school youth. 

Supported by the factory’s youth training programme, Nam is acquiring a range of soft skills and learning about sex education, reproductive health and gender rights. He’s also taking courses in math, IT and writing and gets to rotate work stations to gain experience in a range of tasks.