KNOWLEDGE OF THE YOUTH ABOUT THE ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (AEC) AND THEIR AWARENESSS OF APEC-RELATED OPPORTUNITIES AND THEREATS

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was established in 2015 and many agreements and commitments must be completed by Vietnam in the future. In the context of deeper integration, Vietnamese enterprises are facing competitive pressures in the domestic market. Thus, to take advantage of opportunities and respond to challenges, Vietnamese enterprises need to focus on building a workforce that is keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities of the AEC. This will help consolidate and improve their competitiveness. However, Vietnamese companies and their employees have not been unready for the AEC yet. The lack of  information about the AEC and the instructions become a major obstacle to the economy. The purpose of this research is to measure level of knowledge of the youth about the AEC and estimates its impact on their awarenesss of opportunities and threats related to the AEC. Results from the survey of 214 young  employees show that Vietnamese youth are confident of their subjective knowledge of the AEC, but their objective knowledge of the AEC is quite low. The youth recognized many opportunities and challenges brought by the AEC. Some relevant implications for managers, educational institutions and policymakers are also suggested in this research.